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Profanity and Professionalism

We’ve pretty well gotten used to salty language in public life, haven’t we? Profanity has proliferated to the point that it’s not really shocking anymore.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump says his wife and some evangelical supporters have asked him to tone down his language. He also says he has no intention of doing so. Trump’s been using profanity more than most politicians since he first came on the scene, and it certainly doesn’t seem to have hurt him. To the contrary, it often excites his supporters.

Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has uttered her share of vulgarities, as described in The Washington Post. And there hasn’t been much criticism about it. Some experts say profanity in politics is being normalized so it doesn’t have that much impact anymore.

In fact, the sub-head sums up the thrust of the WaPo story about candidates swearing in their speeches, interviews, and campaign videos. “In politics, profanity may be a shortcut to trust and authenticity.”

And of course, presidential candidates aren’t alone in this. You’ve probably heard Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, in speeches and interviews, talking about GSD. Although he says the initials, he usually also uses the actual words (“Getting Shit Done”) at least once by way of explanation.

It’s not only in politics …

You’ll hear language from those cable news panelists that we never used to hear back when our parents tuned into the evening news to hear Walter Cronkite or Huntley and Brinkley fill them in about what went on that day.

Same with the late-night comedy shows. What Johnny Carson conveyed with a cocked eyebrow, today’s hosts say much more explicitly, and that’s especially true of the shows that aren’t on broadcast channels. Have you heard The Daily Show?

And don’t get me started on singers, rappers, and other musicians. Popular culture is more profane all the time, isn’t it?

It all brings up a question about us …

Is swearing acceptable now in business?

My sense is that standards have changed in our professional lives too, but you couldn’t prove it based on my non-scientific social networking survey.

When I posed the question about swearing in meetings, conversations with clients, or presentations, a clear majority said using profanity is inappropriate in business.

Some were just speaking about their own word choice. “It’s not for me,” “I wouldn’t feel comfortable,” or “Hard no for me. Even when the other meeting attendees are swearing like sailors.”

Others were quite critical of those who do swear in business contexts.

“The need to use profanity to express a thought is a revelation of intellectual vacuity.”

“Swearing fills the gap for people who lack appropriate vocabulary.”

“Dislike it immensely in any situation. We have enough words in our language not to have to resort to four-letter words!”

“Swearing in meetings is not just unprofessional, it also indicates an inability to form an intelligent, coherent sentence.”

You get the idea. I got a lot of comments from people with very strong—and very negative—opinions about profanity in our professional lives. They’re not having it!

And then there are those of us who weigh the context … and the content … and the audience.

I’m firmly in the “context counts” camp, along with many of my connections.

“It depends on the subject matter, who is in the room, and how emotionally attached I am to the issue.”

“Depends on the audience. When working with clients, I follow their lead.”

“I’m a fan of ‘reading the room’ and picking up cues from others.”

“A definite maybe! Depends on audience, context, and meeting purpose/goals.”

“It really depends. I don’t do it just to prove a point, but in the right(?) company I may go for some, ah, colorful embellishment.”

And then there were the sassy ones.

Where do they stand on swearing in business? “F’n yes! Or maybe not.😁” “I f@cking love it.” and “Cat, WTF?”

And then there was the Facebook friend who wrote, “Well, I have been known to say something like, ‘Damn it, Fred, I am tired of you interrupting, mansplaining, and taking credit for my ideas.’” I had to agree that in the case of mansplaining, all rules are off.

That smattering of smart-alecky responses made me smile. And they illustrate how effective salty words can be—in small doses.

If all the comments contained that kind of language, it would lose its impact and certainly its humor. As it was, the sprinkle of spice was a welcome diversion amid the considerable scolding about tacky talk.

I do still have a couple of questions.

My guess is that age makes a difference, and I mean the age of the listener, not the swearer. My social networking contacts are mostly not in their 20s or 30s. They’ve been working for years now, and many are already retired.

I’m curious whether younger people are more freewheeling when it comes to profanity at work. They certainly seem to be looser with language in other contexts.

And I wonder whether gender makes a difference, and I mean the gender of the listener and the gender of the speaker. It used to be that “ladies” were held to a different—and higher—standard. Men were allowed or even expected to use rough language among themselves, but not in front of a female companion. And certainly, women were not to use gutter talk.

(“Gutter talk” – can you tell I’ve been scolded a time or two for not being ladylike?”)

By all means share your thoughts in the comments here. And know that the language police are off-duty!