Nemeth Law takes on civility in the workplace at Raising the Bar forum on October 23

Raising the Bar, an educational series increasing employer awareness of current issues in employment and labor law and offered by Detroit-based Nemeth Law, P.C., returns on Wednesday, October 23, with the timely topic of "Mobilizing Civility: Creating A Culture of Respect." The session will address best practices for employers to generate an organizational culture where employee interaction is civil and respectful.

According to Nemeth Law partner Terry Bonnette, not all workplace discussions regarding the upcoming election are going to be polite exchanges of political philosophy and cooperative discourse. Multiple studies have concluded that the 2016 election changed the way people see their coworkers and their workplaces. Bonnette, who helps train companies with civility issues and who appeared on One Detroit as part of the discussion regarding the Detroit Chamber Civility Project, cites various surveys that have found:

- 27% of workers believe the work environment has become more tense because of political dialogue

- 25% of workers admit they actively avoid certain coworkers with whom they have political differences

- 33% of workers believe that politics is a common distraction in the work environment

- 46% of workers believe their workplace was negatively impacted by the 2016 election

"Incivility has become a cost of doing business," Bonnette said. "Election cycles don't necessarily create the problem. Generational differences, the effect of technology on how we communicate, lack of self-awareness, and discomfort with difference are really the factors feeding into real or perceived incivility."

Topics that will be addressed in the session include:

- What is workplace civility and why is it important?

- What are potential causes /sources of incivility?

- How to craft policies that promote civility without infringing on any protected rights

- Different approaches to civility training and the benefits of each

- Implementing training and protocols that work

Raising the Bar will be held on Wednesday, October 23, at the Management Education Center, 811 West Square Lake Road, Troy, 48098. Check-in and continental breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. The program runs from 9-11:45 a.m. with one 15-minute break. The cost is $75 per person and pre-registration is requested. To register, e-mail Pamela Perkowski at pperkowski@nemethlawpc.com or call 313.567.5921.

Published: Tue, Oct 08, 2019