You know what’s no surprise at all? A nationally representative survey of 1500 workers throughout the US found that younger people — especially women — swear like sailors in the workplace.
Image: AP
In a recent study from work management platform Wrike, about three in four female millennial managers and executives admitted to swearing in the workplace. While that might seem like a high percentage, most millennials are OK with dropping F-bombs at work all the time.
About 67 per cent of millennial women admitted to cursing at work, which is nearly identical to the 66 per cent of millennial men who admitted doing the same. The weird thing is that even though a majority of people swear in the workplace, about 41 per cent feel that swearing is unprofessional.
So what’s the big takeaway here? The study shows that rules in the workplace are loosening up, and that people are using swearing as a kind of therapy when they’re on the job. Saying thing like “What the fuck?!” and “Oh, shit!” or “For the fucking love of God!” or “Oh my god, I’m going to fucking smash the shit out of this piece of shit computer!” can help everyone get along better in the workplace. It sure works at Gizmodo.
The study found that about 47 per cent of millennial men prefer working in a place where colleagues swear, and about 40 per cent of millennial women felt the same way. One-third of the millennial responders said swearing can strengthen a team, and 36 per cent said profane outbursts (like “What the fuck?!”) simply reflect a passion for their work.
Even with all of this pro-profanity sentiment from the study, you should still be careful when you decide to drop F-bombs at the office. About a quarter of millennial men say they have considered filing a formal complaint because of other people’s cursing.
The lesson here: You shouldn’t feel bad about using profane language at the office to keep your sanity. Just be sure you’re around other millennials, who won’t narc on you, before you do it.