There is No Time be Nice at Work

Job output is affected by the work environment. Although an individual may be brilliant, his or her success may be hampered by a cold climate or by a boss who does not value employees’ efforts. Christine Porath attempts to educate the reader about the negative consequences of organizational hostility in an essay published in The New York Times on June 19, 2015. Porath’s goal is to change people’s perceptions of what it means to be a capable manager. She contends that, while there is a need to find a balance between efficiency and friendliness, people’s emotions and sentiments should be taken into account. Indeed, it is possible for a boss to be liked at the workplace and hence steer his staff towards the right direction.

Identify What You See as the Larger Argument and the Most Interesting and Important Claims.

An important argument that Porath makes is that rudeness shuts people’s thinking. The author uses experiments conducted earlier to illustrate that people require motivation to be outstanding. The author refers to an experiment where the leader belittled the participants leading to a 335 reduction on their performance on anagram word puzzles (Para 10). Moreover, the participants run out of ideas by about 39 percent (Para 10). In another study, a professor was rude to the members leading to reduced performance. Porath uses the illustrations to reveal that there is a positive correlation between the employee’s treatment and their productivity at work.

The author asserts that bosses are made to believe that they would lose their leadership appeal by being friendly to the colleagues. Porath, however, counters the argument by stating that there is a need to balance ability and personality. While companies desire to hire the best employees, they prefer one that can work well with the employees and still deliver the best. Porath notes that civilization can also be reflected by the way bosses to handle success and failure. Civilization demands that managers do not take credit for the employee’s wins. When the workers are not recognized for their actions, they end up shutting down and giving little contributions to the company.

Evaluate How Effectively This Author Uses Particular Types of Evidence and Rhetorical Strategies to Persuade His or Her Intended Audience based upon Context and Purpose.

Pathos

Porath uses personal experiences and studies to emphasize on civility at the workplace by touching on people’s emotions. The author begins by giving a recount of her dad’s failing health due to a poor work condition at the workplace (Para 1). She notes that having a mean boss seems to have affected her father’s health. The author points out that for a considerable time, her once strong dad had encountered uncivil bosses and he developed stress that made him get hospitalized. Porath also presents a survey she has conducted in 17 industries on the causes of incivility (Para 6). The results reveal that an excessive workload and lack of time leads to incivility. She also gives a personal recount with a surgeon who confided that he was oblivious of his bad attitude until he got negative feedback (Para 15). She, hence, concludes that incivility is sometimes born of ignorance and not out of ill motives.

Logos

Porath uses her observation to make conclusions about the importance of civility and effects of been cruel to the employees. The author points out that hostility significantly costs a company because sometimes workers quit joining better organizations leading to a talent loss. Porath asserts that being insensitive towards other people demoralizes them; affects their health and it makes them feel inadequate. The author further notes that experiencing a bullying event raises the level of glucocorticoids hormones which affects the health of a person (para 3). The elevated hormones are likely to cause an increased appetite and even obesity.

Ethos

There is evidently use of credible sources and evidence in this essay. Porath provides some literature review on research that has earlier on being conducted on how rogue bosses affect the health and the competence of workers in the workplace. Robert M. Sapolsky notes that when people experience incivility for an extensive period, their immunity is affected (Para 3). He further illustrates that individuals who are stressed at work are likely to develop cardiovascular disease, cancer, ulcers and even diabetes. Porath also highlights facts drawn from different studies to assert her argument on this topic. In a 2012 study that observed women for ten years, it was concluded that women in stressful jobs have a 38% chance of developing cardiovascular disease (Para 4).

Identify What You See as the Intended Audience and Analyze the Ways in Which the Author Seems to be Responding to the Audience’s Through Strategies.

Porath appears to be addressing employers and employees across organizations. The focus is on changing the notion that people have that being bossy and rude help one to climb the career ladder. Also, from her observation, Porath notes that people associate kindness with time. She, however, asserts that civility is about changing people’s attitude and, hence, does not require extra time. By providing some literature evidence, her personal experiences and voice of reason using Porath manage to appeal to the audience and perhaps change their notion of being kind and considerate in the workplace.

In particular, there is the use of logic in this article to address incivility in the workplace. Porath notes that although uncivil behavior may not always be defined, some subtle actions can be considered rude and can significantly demoralize workers. For instance, a boss who always shouts at his/her juniors is likely to shut down their ideas and thoughts. Porath adds that a boss, for example, mentions to his/her staff that their opinion is unwarranted demoralizes them, and he/she ends up being hated (Para 11). Other ways in which a boss may seem to devalue their employees include walking away from a conversation with an employee, going through their phones in meetings or even answering their calls (Para 5).

Assess the Relative Strengths and Weaknesses of the Text.

Strengths

Porath offers evidence in her article which further validates her arguments. She provides a study conducted on 4,500 doctors which revealed that incivility demoralizes the medical personal (Para 7). About 71% noted that some of the medical errors could be associated with having an unfriendly atmosphere with 27% noting that it also lead to patient’s deaths (Para7). In an observation she made with a management professor, Amir Erez, Porath notes that people are likely to miss information presented to them while in a tense environment as they lack the capacity to handle it well (Para 8).

Weakness

Porath fails to address the concerns that people have towards being kind at the workplace. Over time, the professionals have been taught that bosses have to be tough to climb the career ladder. Porath should have them offered a step by step solution to the employers on how they can be firm but yet be kind to fellow colleagues. There is a need also to address insubordination. Kind bosses are viewed as weak, and it is easy for the employees to disrespect them.

Conclusion

Being polite does not have to take up more time. Civility starts with the subtle things that people do. Being kind is an attribute that can be developed over time and everyone should be determined to elevate others and not bring them down. Learning to switch off the phone during a conversation, maintain eye contact and make a firm handshake is also a gateway to acceptance. The leaders should also learn to smile often and thank the junior staff for every help extended at the workplace. As Porath notes, people who are civil are considered to be warm and competent; a factor that fosters acceptance in the workplace.

Work Cited

Porath Christine. “No Time to Be Nice at Work”. The New York Times, June. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/is-your-boss-mean.html?_r=0 Accessed 22 Feb. 2017.