Mind your Tongue : Swearing at work may cost employees promotion

 New York: Frequent use of curse words at workplace makes employees lose out on their promotions, but more than half of the people still swear in the office, a survey has found.

As per a recent survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and 3,800 workers across the US, as many as 51 per cent of the people swear in the office.
The survey also found that 64 per cent of employers said they would think less of an employee who repeatedly uses curse words, while 57 per cent said they would be less likely to promote someone who swears in the office.


At the same time, one in four employers (25 per cent) themselves admitted to swearing at their employees, found the survey conducted by US-based research firm Harris Interactive for human resource solutions provider CareerBuilder.
Out of the employees who swear in the office, a vast majority (95 per cent) said they do so in front of their co-workers, while 51 per cent cuss in front of the boss.
The workers are least likely to use expletives in front of their clients (7 per cent).
In terms of gender, men are more likely to report swearing at work (54 per cent) compared to the women (47 per cent).
As per the survey, employers are inclined to think less of an employee who swears at work for a variety of reasons.
"Most (81 per cent) believe that the use of curse words brings the employee's professionalism into question," CareerBuilder said.
"Others are concerned with the lack of control (71 per cent) and lack of maturity (68 per cent) demonstrated by swearing at work, while 54 per cent said swearing at work makes an employee appear less intelligent," it added.
Among top US cities, workers in the nation's capital Washington swear the most at work (62 per cent), while it was lower in Los Angeles (56 per cent) and New York (46 per cent).
Comparing age groups, younger employees were the least likely to swear at work, while employees aged 35-44 are the most likely to curse while on the job.
In the survey, 42 per cent of employees aged 18-24 years admitted to swearing at work, while it was as high as 58 per cent for 35-44 years age group.