SOME people love to swear. In the workplace, some of those people might be in charge.

You may have worked with one (or be one) yourself. The team leader who likes to pepper a pep talk with spicy language, or the manager who uses swear words to express themselves in the clearest possible terms.

How colleagues respond to colourful language varies. Some might enjoy it, while others are unbothered. It can also be considered a sign of poor leadership, unprofessional – and simply unnecessary.

Our research suggests people’s reactions to a sweary boss depend not only on what is being said, but also on who is listening and where they live.

We found that there is not a single “correct” way for leaders to communicate. But overall, employees were less satisfied with supervisors who frequently used profanity.

So if you’re wondering whether filling meetings with swear words is a good management strategy, it’s probably safer to avoid them.

But some people in our study of 5,660 employees in 19 countries reacted in exactly the opposite way. Those who considered themselves to have more psychopathic and machiavellian personality traits – so with lower levels of empathy – reported greater satisfaction with their leader as profanity increased.

Psychopathy and machiavellianism both involve a certain level of emotional detachment and a willingness to disregard social norms, including the norm that bosses shouldn’t swear. For these people, a boss who swears may come across as more genuine and confident, unconstrained by unnecessary rules.

Employees with stronger narcissistic traits (characterised by a sense of entitlement and a need for admiration) were surprisingly indifferent. Swearing neither impressed nor offended them very much. Their feelings of satisfaction towards their bosses barely changed.

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For the full article by Professor Alexandros Psychogios visit the Conversation.

ENDS