At some time in everyone’s career they experience incivility at work, this can be as small as being interrupted or bumped into without an apology, or as terrible as bullying and harassment. Repeated instances of incivility can impact the psychological health and safety of employees.
The Social Style Model was developer by Psychologists David Merrill and Roger Reid in the early 1950s. They used factor analysis to identify two scales, identified as assertiveness and responsiveness. This results in a model that has four quadrants which identify four social styles.
When we learn to resolve conflict in a beneficial way, we open ourselves up to better decisions and personal development. We learn about the situation, and about the other person’s point of view.
A workplace filled with drama and gossip is a toxic environment to find yourself in. Not only is it hurtful to those who find out people have been talking behind their back, but it can also damage working relationship, create factions, or cause dangerous confrontations.
You may be tempted to throw caution to the wind, march into your Supervisor’s office and unleash all your bottled up frustration. DON’T. The business world is smaller than you think, and things said in the heat of the moment could come back to bite you later.