Gosh darn it, maybe swearing at the office isn’t a bad thing

Published 1:30 am Sunday, January 22, 2017

By Rex Huppke

Chicago Tribune

Let’s talk about our damn language at work.

That’s right, I put profanity right at the top of this column. And if it weren’t for the standards of a newspaper that might be read by children, I would’ve used a worse one. Maybe an F-bomb or a Z-rocket. (The Z-rocket is a profanity I made up that’s so bad nobody even knows what it means.)

It may surprise you to learn a beloved workplace advice columnist is pro-profanity. But it’s the truth.

I’m not turned off by swearing among adults. I’m not afraid to swear around colleagues or even bosses. In fact, measured profanity is one of the few skills I feel truly confident about — I’ve considered adding it to my LinkedIn profile.

And I want to discuss whether swearing should still be considered a workplace taboo.

Frst, let’s consider a small Minnesota concrete company that recently made headlines by implementing a “no swearing” policy.

Hancock Concrete , a west-central Minnesota company that makes concrete pipes and other construction materials, decided to improve its workplace by cleaning up peoples’ language. Vice President David Schmidgall told a news service: “We’re trying to promote an environment in which you want your children to work.”

Personally, I like working around adults (not children), and I think adults can swear at work as long as their words aren’t used to bully others.

There’s a difference between, “%$&#, I forgot to send that email!” and “%$&# you, why didn’t you remind me to send that email!” I expect adults to know the difference. And if some co-workers bristle at swearing, reasonable adults should respect that without a companywide policy ordering them to do so.

Every company has its own culture. As Schmidgall said: “We’re not trying to tell the world not to swear, but these are our standards.”

I respect that. It’s also worth noting that Hancock Concrete has a “no jerks” policy, which I wholeheartedly applaud.

And while some still view profanity at work as coarsening our culture, I see it as recognition that it’s OK to be yourself on the job.

There was a time, not long ago, when I was scorned for dancing to ’80s pop hits in my cubicle. Some called it “inappropriate” and “too overtly sexual.” But now? Every day’s a dance party.

The point is, times have changed and there’s no sign we’ll be returning to more polite-mouthed mores.

A survey by software management company Wrike found that only 22 percent of millennials are bothered by swearing at work and 39 percent of them say it makes “conveying ideas and feelings easier.” Close to 70 percent of millennials say they swear in the office, along with 56 percent of Gen X and baby boomer executives and managers.

Close to half of Gen X and baby boomer workers say swearing feels too casual and unprofessional for work, while the same portion of millennials say it doesn’t matter.

Other data in the survey reflect what I would expect: most don’t swear around clients or customers; much swearing happens at a person’s desk or in peer-to-peer conversations; and bosses tend to set the tone on whether it’s OK to let bad words fly.

I don’t think this genie’s going back in the bottle. So

I’d argue we should accept that profanity isn’t quite as profane as it once was. In fact, scientific studies have linked swearing to attributes positive in any workplace.

Researchers from Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, Maastricht University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology evaluated the honesty of people who routinely use curse words and found “a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty.” They wrote that “profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level.”

So, kiss my honest %#&, all you profanity haters!

Another study by researchers from Marist College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts found that swearing can be a sign of greater intelligence.

As with all things, moderation is key. If you swear constantly at work, you won’t just bother people, you’ll get tuned out.

But the days of feeling like you can’t drop an F-bomb in the office are over. Work is hard and frustrating, and it can make you want to swear.

Don’t be afraid to say, “This $#%&ing sucks!”

That doesn’t make you crude. It makes you honest.

— Chicago Tribune