Something as small as an eye-roll or a dismissive email may not seem serious. But across millions of workplaces, these small moments of disrespect are adding up to an enormous cost — roughly $2 billion every single day.
Workplace incivility refers to low-level rude or disrespectful behavior that lacks an obvious intention to harm. Think of someone being interrupted mid-sentence, receiving sarcastic feedback in front of colleagues, or being left out of a conversation. Because these behaviors are subtle and their intent is unclear, they are easy to brush off — and that is exactly what makes incivility so difficult to tackle.
The scale of the problem is striking. Research shows that more than 74% of workers have experienced some form of incivility at work, and nearly half report being treated rudely at least once a week. In early 2025, U.S. employees were experiencing over 200 million incidents per day — a 21.5% increase compared to the same period the year before. After witnessing or experiencing a rude interaction, employees need close to 35 minutes on average before they can fully refocus on their work. Multiply that lost time across a large workforce, and the financial damage becomes clear. Beyond lost hours, incivility also reduces engagement, weakens commitment, and increases staff turnover.
The political environment has made things worse. In late 2024, civility in U.S. workplaces hit its lowest recorded level, with more than half of workers pointing to political disagreements as the leading trigger. The workplace civility score fell to just 40.9 out of 100, and nearly a third of workers said their organizations were doing a poor job of promoting respectful behavior. Another challenge is that most employees never report incivility when it happens — many fear retaliation, while others assume nothing will change. Without that visibility, HR teams and managers cannot address the problem.
When incivility goes unchallenged, it spreads. Employees begin to model the behavior they see around them, and what starts as occasional rudeness can gradually develop into bullying or a hostile work environment. The good news is that organizations can take practical steps: setting clear behavioral standards, training managers, and creating psychological safety — where employees feel safe to speak up — all make a measurable difference. Research also shows that workplaces where recognition is common have significantly lower staff turnover. When managers model respectful communication, they set the tone for everyone else. In a time when societal tensions frequently spill into the office, that kind of intentional leadership is not just good culture — it is good business.
