Aug 28 2008
Swear to relieve your work stress
Stress is a major problem encountered by all sectors of the work force. There is not a single field or rung on the corporate ladder that can claim to be absolutely stress-free; whether you’re picking tea in India or running a Fortune 500 company, it’s inevitable that you will experience a few sleepless nights because of work.
People have various ways of managing their stress; some meditate or do yoga or tai chi, others take up high-impact, adrenalin sports and others internalise it until one day they explode and come to work with a rifle. From this we can determine that there are healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with stress. In an interesting study by the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, researchers found that swearing actually relieves stress felt by employees, and can also reinforce solidarity and cohesiveness among staff.
According to the study, “non-conventional” and “uncivil” language can have a positive effect on company morale, even though older managers and top executives may not entirely approve. Yehuda Baruch, professor of management at the UEA-based Norwich Business School, says that while swearing may be widespread and commonplace among staff, most of it occurs as a habit of speech and contains no real aggression or malice.
Age plays a role in the tolerance of profanity, with younger managers and professionals showing greater tolerance (and more colourful language) than their older counterparts. As far as gender was concerned, however, the discrepancy in profanity wasn’t as big as you might expect. Women are just as capable of cursing a blue streak as men, especially among themselves.
These days, employers are encouraged to take responsibility for the health of their employees and that includes their stress levels. Many companies have anger management or workplace wellness programmes in place to facilitate the psychological, emotional and mental stability of their staff. Workplace wellness programmes in particular are quite popular internationally. Dr Craig Nossel, Deputy General Manager of Discovery Vitality, SA, says that 95% of Fortune 500 companies in the US have wellness programmes in place. He adds that that there is a strong correlation between employee wellness and improvements in staff morale, loyalty and performance, as well as a reduction in operating costs.
According to the US Association of Labour Management Administrators and Consultants, each dollar invested in wellness usually results in savings of between 300% and 500%, especially in terms of reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.
Whether companies encourage profanity or wellness is up to them, the important thing, however, is that they start taking a keener interest in the health (physical and mental) of their employees.
I think I’d put my money on wellness programs that don’t advocate increased swearing. Early in my career I worked in TV News where swearing is very common. From my experience, higher levels of colorful language, while momentarily reducing stress, do little to boost productivity and in fact reduce morale and overall professionalism.