‘Thank God it’s Friday’ – Mindfulness and employee behaviour throughout the week

While Wednesday has managed to rebrand itself as ‘hump day’, Monday has always had a bad rap. Whether it’s Garfield, The Boomtown Rats, Bon Jovi or The Bangles, everyone wants to dump on Mondays.

But is it all just bad press? Well, according to new research from BI Norwegian Business School and Maastricht University, you’re not imagining it - people with low mindfulness are more uncivil on Monday than any other day of the week, with their behaviour only improving as the weekend gets closer.

Associate Professor Suzanne van Gils from BI Norwegian Business School, and Ute Hulsheger and Alicia Walkowiak from Maastricht University, discovered that employees with ‘low mindfulness’ were more likely to bring about a bad office environment on a Monday, with bad behaviours including:

• Using a condescending tone

• Making negative remarks

• Addressing others unprofessionally

They found uncivil behaviour was highest on Monday and decreased throughout the working week - presumably becoming all sweetness and light at 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon.

Alicia Walkowiak explained, “Workplace interventions focusing on incivility and mistreatment need to target not only the victims, but also the perpetrators of incivility. Our findings may inform such interventions by showing that mindfulness can help to reduce incivility at work. Evidence is abundant that mindfulness is malleable and can be increased through mindfulness-based interventions.

The implementation of such programs could enhance relationships with organisations and reduce incivility at work. Organisations may also wish to make sure their work environment fosters mindful behaviour.”

The study also found that employees with high trait mindfulness reacted in a more morally mature manner and experienced guilt when they did engage in uncivil behaviour.

Commenting on the study, Liz Sebag‑Montefiore​, director and co‑founder of HR consultancy 10Eighty, points out that a study by Michigan State University found that disrespectful behaviour is contagious - rudeness, such as sarcasm or put-downs quickly spreads from person to person in the workplace, with the majority soon exhibiting the same or similar attitudes, so it’s in your interest to nip bad behaviour in the bud and help promote mindfulness in the workplace.

“Employees who experience this behaviour may be reluctant to speak out or air grievances,” she said. “These behaviours result in a toxic workplace environment, but the problem is that disrespectful and inappropriate behaviour may be open to interpretation. 

“An inclusive and respectful workplace culture must be supported top-down and good behaviours modelled by leadership. At a minimum, all employees should conduct themselves in a professional manner when interacting with others or when managing colleagues; and should consider their own behaviour and the impact that this can have on others.

“Morale, productivity, and engagement are at their best when employees work effectively as a team and demonstrate healthy levels of civility and respect for each other. Don’t ignore bad behaviour; pay attention and listen to all parties concerned - there are ways to address the problem including feedback, training, mentoring, and counselling.”