Is profanity in the workplace beneficial?

On an overcast afternoon in Brooklyn, N.Y., a group of preteen girls purposefully approached a boy. There was nobody else in the playground. It was 1969.

Hands planted on hips, one of the girls stood out from the others and addressed the boy, "We've decided not to play with you anymore because you curse too much." The other girls nodded in stern solidarity.

"Tough s**t," said the boy, who shrugged and walked off.

The following day, the boy apologized to the girls and said he would work on it. He had no intention of changing, but he didn't want to lose the girls' company either. The ploy worked, thus beginning a lifelong pattern that would continue through 20 years of dating and 18 years of marriage.

Okay, so you figured out who the boy was. Good thing my wife doesn't read the blog. She'd probably curse me all the way back to Brooklyn.

I bring all this up because I've often wondered if cursing is acceptable in the workplace. In my experience, most high-tech executives curse, some more than others. Moreover, there appears to be a general acceptance of a wide variance of behavior, from political correctness to the truly vulgar.

In fact, a recent study suggests that swearing in the workplace may have some benefits. According to the researchers, by expressing feelings and frustration, cursing provides a mechanism for relieving stress.

Of course, if one person's swearing stresses everyone else out, that kind of defeats the purpose. A boss, for example, angrily cursing out an employee, is certainly not condoned by the research.

The study also indicates that swearing enhances group cohesiveness by creating and maintaining solidarity among the workers. The caveat, of course, is that workers shouldn't curse in front of customers. That would be a bad thing.

The research group's general message to corporate executives is this: if you're considering prohibiting cursing in the workplace, you should think twice because it might backfire on you.

FYI, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of East Anglia and published in the Leadership and Organization Development Journal by Emerald Publishing, all in the U.K.

My question for all of you is how do you feel about profanity in the workplace? Is it acceptable or not, and if so, to what extent?

Last word
There's a great suspense movie called Jagged Edge with Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges. Here, Close's character, Teddy, gets annoyed with her friend Sam's incessant cursing:

Teddy: Did your mother ever wash your mouth out with soap and water?
Sam: Yeah, but it didn't do any f***ing good.

Like it or not, when it comes to cursing in the workplace, I'm with Sam.

[kinggorman]

Profanity at work

It can be in the right situations. I used to work on a help desk for a large investment bank. If not for the ability to rant, vent and use expletives at times...eventually someone would've gone nuts there.

One guy actually yelled "I would rather search for contraband in the a** hole of an inmate then work in this place for another day!!" He was training someone at the time. A month later he was a prison guard in Jersey.

As long as you are not verbally assaulting someone, why shouldn't you be able to curse? When people express frustration it's healthy. The people who don't go to work with machine guns.

[Dane McKitrick]

Cursing as an art form

My father taught me long ago (longer ago than you told the girls tough s#!t) that to curse properly is an art. Most people curse by simply inserting profanity into the sentence or phrase, usually (least creatively) as an adjective. Occasionally as a noun. Generally that just makes them appear less literate than they actually are.

When done properly, cursing accomplishes several goals. First it conveys exactly how you feel about the person or circumstance. Second, especially if addressed at another person, it leaves that person torn between laughing at what was said and offended at what they were called. Third, it displays a quick wit and firm mastery of the language. Fourth, and most importantly, it leaves any audience laughing.

My Dad was a master and I witnessed him many times cursing out some burly construction worker with such finesse that everyone around was a little sad when he finally ran down.

However, the absolute best example I know of comes from one of Lyle Stuart's books. He tells of having difficulty with some casino worker in Las Vegas and he claims to have told the person, as part of a longer rant; "You are not qualified to be the third assistant c)#ksucker at a Mongolian Cluster F%%k"

It conveys the point but, how can you not laugh at that?

So, yes, I think cursing, when properly done is appropriate behavior.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN]

An ice breaker or stress reliever I think..

I know at my last job, my supervisors would sometimes use some vulgar language, but in a playful way. It was a little unethical, because I was new at one point and felt somewhat uncomfortable. Then later I grew to not accept it down on my knees, but to enjoy the comfort around everyone knowing that we could say what was on our minds (to a certain extent of course).

[royauty]

Swearing grates on those around you

A former workmate of mine used to swear loudly and repeatedly with single word exclamations whenever something didn't go his way. Not only did he highlight how often things failed to work out for him, but he also depressed everyone around him. After 5 years of being worn down multiple times a day, no-one muttered anything close to a curse when he finally left.

[cmfry]

Curse around those who curse only!

I once watched a television program that highlighted several high-profile
CEOs. I don't remember exactly who it was that said this but here's what the
man said, was the key to his success: "when you're with a priest, pray; a
drunk, drink and when you're all alone, do whatever you want."

That pretty much sums up my feelings towards CEOs and a corporate
philosophy in general. When you have companies employing thousands of
employees, from all walks-of-life, it's only logical to assume that numerous
employees will not tolerate the use of expletives.

In short, curse around those who curse but give other employees the same
courtesy extended to customers.