Have you ever heard these responses to an employee’s remarks?
• “I can’t believe she said that.”
• “Where did that come from?”
• “He’ll say anything.”
• “There’s a time and a place for everything, but this was not the
appropriate time or place.”
• “EEEYYUUUU. Gross.”
• “He’s a flaming liberal.”
• “She’s a right-wing extremist trying to force her values on others.”

Some employees say and do things that simply are not appropriate in
the workplace. Almost everyone can think of an employee who behaves inappropriately. There can be many reasons for such repellent behavior:

• An upbringing that did not teach the niceties of appropriate conversational topics
• A desire to be shocking and draw attention
• An attempt to be interesting
• Self-absorption leading to insensitivity to others’ feelings and
reactions
• A need for dominance and to force opinions on others
• A deliberate challenge to authority or team dynamics
• A cry for help with an underlying problem such as mental illness
or addiction
• The desire to establish oneself as a hero among coworkers who
share similar views or language

Often, we hear that people should not do certain things in the workplace because of common courtesy. The phrase “common courtesy” is an interesting choice. Why? Because there is no code of courtesy that is common to all people of all generations and cultures. Some employees still find the use of the word sucks to say that something is disappointing to be offensive. However, it never occurs to employees raised on Bart Simpson that this word is inappropriate. What can a manager do to teach employees something that they probably should have learned in childhood? This
one is touchy.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer