Rudeness at Work

One of the employees with whom I worked on a project is rude. At first I thought it was special for me; later, learned that it was to all temps. Much later, another employee told us that isn't so; the employee is rude, aware of said rudeness and doesn't care.

In my state, in January of 2009, industry standards designed to address rude, or hostile behavior will come into play; they'll define things. Because the person is a long-term employee of the firm, I don't' expect policies to have much of an effect, except in relationship to those at a higher level. There will always be people who have a line of demarcation and treat people differently based on their relative levels. Since temporary attorneys aren't on any level, it stands to reason that this person's behavior, as to the likes of us, will not change.

What's interesting is that I've heard no reports of this impacting the persons success in performing assigned duties, which is surprising; I once worked at a place in which people complained about the shipping department all the time. I had no trouble. Why? I'd go with my package, tell them what I wanted and ask if it was possible. Unsuccessful people paid no attention to the parameters within which shipping worked, like deadlines for overnighting things, and would demand that they ship something immediately. Asking for help in a complicated situation was far more effective.

Having had (and currently holding) impossibly low positions on the totem pole (or not rating the totem pole), I know what it's like to be treated badly because of ones position. Because I have much more respect for those who treat me respectfully, I'll never be rude to people based on their relative position.

What the rude people don't realize is that someday the person to whom they're rude may be in a position to help them or harm them.