Rudeness at work is not a rare and extremely unpleasant thing. Rude statements and inappropriate behavior of boors interfere with the calm work of the rest of the team members, cause discord in relations between employees and contribute to the general deterioration of the socio-psychological climate.
Hence, many people have questions: how to deal with such behavior from colleagues, is it possible to somehow influence a rude colleague, and so that the situation does not repeat itself - how to prevent such behavior? This article reveals the answers to these and other questions.
Rudeness at work
Every employee can experience inappropriate behavior in the workplace. A boss, a colleague, or even a subordinate can be rude:
- If the boss is rude , then the subordinate should not be rude in response, otherwise he risks losing his job. It is best to think about what reasons the manager might have for such behavior. This will help you develop the most appropriate behavior tactics. As a rule, a boss's rudeness depends on a misunderstanding or his incompetence;
- There are many possible responses to a colleague’s rudeness. However, you need to understand that you will have to maintain your relationship with your colleague in order not to harm the work and the rest of the team;
- If a subordinate is rude to a manager , the manager must get out of the current situation tactfully, pointing out his superiority. Otherwise, he risks losing the authority and respect of his colleagues.
What is the punishment for insulting a person?
The fact that insult has moved from the category of crimes to the category of offenses cannot but upset citizens who are faced with rudeness and humiliation of their dignity. Because the punishment for committing this act has become much easier.
Now, according to the Administrative Code, the maximum that can be recovered from an offender for insult if he is an ordinary citizen and not an official or legal entity is 3,000 rubles (from the second 30,000 rubles or 100,000 rubles, respectively).
While, until 2012 , according to the provisions of the Criminal Code, for insulting the perpetrator, it was possible to collect a fine in the amount of one to three salaries or up to 40,000 rubles, or impose compulsory or forced labor on him, or limit his freedom for up to 1 year . For public insult, a fine of up to six salaries or 80,000 rubles, forced labor or restriction of freedom for up to 2 years was provided.
Public insult to personality
Russian legislation defines the publicity of an insult as its demonstration in public, in an oral speech, in a printed work or in the media. Punishment for public insult is a maximum fine of 5,000 rubles for a civilian, 50,000 rubles for an official and 500,000 rubles for a legal entity. Only officials and legal entities who will have to pay from 10,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles in the form of a fine are subject to liability for allowing the fact of public insult.
Naturally, an insult expressed at a general meeting, where a large number of people are present, on television, in books, newspapers and other publicly accessible printed publications will be considered public.
Insulting a person on the Internet and social networks
It is controversial whether an insult to a person posted on the Internet or on social networks will be considered public. On the one hand, why not? It’s not for nothing that the Internet is called the “World Wide Web.” Information posted on its open spaces, including offensive information, is available to a very large number of people. And often even more than just readers and viewers of the media.
Until a certain point, courts, when considering cases of insults expressed via the Internet, classified them as public, equating all kinds of sites and pages of social networks with the media. However, recently this practice has been discouraged.
Russian legislation does not directly indicate that insult through Internet resources is public. The only exceptions are news sites that have official media status.
That is, let’s say, an insult to Ivanov I.I. – “a miser and a gossip” posted on his personal page on social networks will not be considered public. But the same information contained in one of the articles on a news site is very easy.
However, in light of recent news, online insults and trolling can now be recorded by a notary, which will make it easier to prove the insult in court.
Harassment in the workplace
Here, a lot depends on where exactly the victim works. If he is a representative of the authorities (law enforcement officer, police officer, etc.) or a career military serviceman, then his offender will have to answer for his actions according to the standards of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (under Articles 319 or 336 of the Criminal Code, respectively). Provided that the victim at that moment was engaged in the performance of his official duties, that is, he was on duty, and not on a day off or on vacation.
Punishment under Article 319 includes a fine of up to 40,000 rubles, compulsory or correctional labor. Such an insult can only be of a public nature.
According to the disposition of Article 336, military personnel can insult each other, while they can be of equal status or in the rank of superior and subordinate. The punishment for such an act is restriction on military service or detention in a disciplinary military unit.
In other cases, liability for insult or public insult will be administrative. It doesn’t matter who insulted whom: the boss of a subordinate or vice versa, colleagues - each other, a client - a service worker, etc., the qualification of the offense will depend on whether this insult was public or not.
But sometimes there are quite complex cases. For example, a dissatisfied customer wrote a review about the seller of a large store in a complaint book, entirely consisting of obscene and insulting words, humiliating him and undermining his business reputation. There is a victim, there is physical evidence, there are witnesses - all those who read this recording. It would seem like a common insult to personality. But an experienced lawyer can fight in court and prove that the insult is public. After all, a guest book is practically an official document accessible to any visitor, that is, the public.
How to react to a manager's rudeness?
Unfortunately, an employee is not always ready to look for a new job due to the fact that his boss is constantly rude to everyone. It is much more important for some to keep their jobs.
If a leader allows himself to systematically display arrogance and rudeness, he should arm himself with some techniques that will help overcome the desire to be rude in response. There are several behavioral tactics if you are faced with a boorish attitude from a manager:
- Smile. She makes the boss doubt his confidence, since he believes that he is superior to his subordinates;
- Don’t take it to heart, but look for constructive criticism in the leader’s words;
- Don't respond to rudeness with rudeness , because that's what some people expect. In addition, the employee will only sink to the level of a rude person, which cannot be allowed to happen;
- Self respect . It manifests itself in good self-esteem: if an employee feels good about himself, then there is little chance that he will become an object of attack from others;
- Collective resistance . If the boss allows himself to behave boorishly towards each employee, the whole team should get together and talk with the boss. He can't fire everyone.
When communicating with his supervisor, an employee must comply with the rules of conduct. When faced with inappropriate behavior from a superior, a subordinate should adhere to business ethics.
It happens to everyone
Has this ever happened to you: a situation happened some time ago, for example, you were rude in a store, and you mentally continue to return to it again and again? Or maybe you are looking for the perfect answer to the boor and then you will emerge victorious from the conflict. In my head. After some time.
And at the moment of the situation, you felt stupid, showed cowardice and did not defend yourself. This happens to me all the time. The joke “I’m not vindictive, I’m just angry and have a good memory” seems to be absolutely about me. At the same time, I can make witty jokes and generally don’t mince words. But when I come across outright rudeness, that’s it, I’m in a stupor.
My opponent stroked his pride at my expense, and I have been stewing in this poison of unpleasant memories for a long time. And if I’m rude in response, I worry even more, because I’m tormented by the feeling that I’m dirty in mud, and it’s difficult to wash it off. I feel like going to apologize.
How to punish an employee for boorish behavior?
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not contain clauses that provide for any punishment for a rude employee. However, the employer has the right to establish specific rules of conduct and compliance with business ethics in the company’s internal regulations, in job descriptions, and also indicate them in the employment contract. The employee must be familiarized with these documents against signature.
So, if the necessary rules are spelled out in the documents, the employee can be subject to disciplinary action for displaying rude attitude. For example, reprimand or reprimand him.
You can read more about disciplinary sanctions and how they are applied in this article.
How to apply punishment?
If an organization has specific rules of behavior, and an employee violates them, disciplinary action can be taken against him. It is carried out as follows:
- First, you need to draw up an act that states the employee’s violation;
- After this, the employee must be required to provide an explanation in writing. If the employee refused to provide it, a new act should be drawn up indicating the employee’s refusal to provide an explanation;
- Next, you need to decide what punishment the employee deserves: a reprimand or a reprimand. This punishment must correspond to the violation;
- Then, within a month after the violation is discovered, an order imposing disciplinary punishment should be issued.
Is it possible to fire someone for rudeness?
An employee cannot be fired for rudeness and rude attitude. However, according to Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation , an employee can be fired for repeated failure to comply with labor duties. As mentioned above, the employer can prescribe specific rules in the job description, non-compliance with which leads to unpleasant consequences for the employee.
If an employee has violated the established rules more than once, if a disciplinary sanction has already been applied to him, and if he does not have the best impact on the company’s income: the loss of a key client or a missed contract, he can be fired.
Having decided to fire a rude employee, the employer must be extremely careful and careful, as the employee may sue the company. It is important to carefully follow the procedure for imposing disciplinary sanctions and the dismissal procedure.
The dismissal procedure can be found in more detail in this article.
Analyze the reason
Do you know why this or that stranger hurt you? If not, then try to find out at least some reason for their disrespectful behavior and attitude. You may not feel better after this, but at least you will understand what could have provoked them to do this. It can be said that any rude phrase betrays the stranger’s bad intentions, but when you know the reason, you can avoid such unwanted communication in the future.
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Is it possible to prevent rudeness at work?
To avoid a possible recurrence of the situation, it is recommended to adhere to the following recommendations:
- It is necessary to cultivate self-confidence, because confident people rarely become the target of attacks by a boor;
- Respecting the boundaries of business communication. By sharing his personal life at work with colleagues, an employee reveals to them his weak points, which ill-wishers can subsequently take advantage of;
- It is necessary to be a professional in your field and a valuable employee, since it is much more difficult to offend such an employee;
- Respect for the team, adherence to its certain values and rules, will help you take a worthy place among your colleagues and get help in an unforeseen situation.
Show confidence in yourself
Behave confidently, and people themselves will not want to be rude and caustic towards you. Everyone should see that you do not pay attention to those who can or want to hurt you. This will be better for you too, because this way you will protect and protect yourself from negative thoughts and emotions. If you cannot restrain yourself from answering, then do it politely and tactfully.
Useful article: How to gain self-confidence: recommendations from a psychologist.
