Kristen Pyrz-Brown: Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss on the cost of bad manners in business

Imagine sending a one-line, all-caps email to a marketing manager in a partner organisation or making a derogatory comment on the social media page of an organisation you regularly rely on to assist you in your business — dumb, right?

And yet this kind of incivility and lack of professionalism still exists in business practices today.

“Oh, those Gen Zs!” I hear you cry.

Nope, it’s not limited by generational lines. These are decisions being made by people who “should” know better.

And the price?

Well, according to studies on the price of incivility, the costs definitely affect a business’ bottom line.

The experience of incivility in the workplace elicits negative responses in almost all cases — and in some cases, overt retaliation.

The person on the receiving end of incivility can become less creative when they feel disrespected, and less inclined to collaborate and solve problems with the perpetrator.

Many get fed up and stop working on the professional interaction or relationship.

About half of those surveyed were found to deliberately decrease their effort or lower the quality of their work.

Above all, this incivility severely damages customer relationships.

As businesses, and the people in them, become increasingly sophisticated and aware of what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour, emotional intelligence and being respectful in all dealings is of paramount importance.

It would be remiss of anyone in our business community to underestimate the power of collaboration and keeping good relations with those you serve and those who serve you.

After all, you never know when you’re going to need to rely on them for something.

In a city where word of mouth still reigns supreme and relationships are your currency, the old adage about catching flies with honey rings ever truer as your point of difference.

Kristen Pyrz-Brown is chief executive of the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry.