Profanity in the Workplace

By Angela Adams, CEBS, SPHR, Director, EEO & Compliance Solutions
Published October 8, 2024

Q: We have a salesperson who performs well but tends to have a “potty mouth.” He was walking around a blind corner, and he and another employee were startled by each other. The salesperson yelled out, “Holy %^&*, you f$%*&^ scared me!” He continued, telling the other employee, “You scared the %^&* out of me, god #$^& it!” 

The other employee just laughed about it and said “sorry” and walked away. This happened near my office (I’m the HR Manager), so I went out to see what had happened. No one was hurt or upset. However, I noticed the salesperson was right outside the customer service cubicles while he was yelling. Later that afternoon, I stopped by his office and asked him to be careful with what he says when he’s outside customer service as customers could overhear him, not to mention other employees. He became angry at me and thought I was overreacting. Was I? I said something to him directly because his immediate boss won’t reprimand him for anything.

High revenue-generating salespeople can be a tough area for HR, as sometimes their performance issues are not addressed. But we think you did the right thing.

You stated he tends to use profanity a lot, so it sounds like this isn’t the first time you’ve heard something like this from him. We think it’s reasonable that you asked him not to use profanity outside customer service where customers and other employees may be offended by it. According to one survey, 69% of Americans curse at work. If he truly was startled and a swear slipped out of his mouth, we would probably overlook it. However, you said he went on loudly, in an area where customers and employees could overhear him. We agree that it was appropriate to say something to him to avoid this scenario again.

You may have a code of conduct or ethics policy in your handbook that could help you enforce your prohibition of this behavior. Most of these policies have a statement that says employees must “maintain the highest standards of professional and personal conduct.” This is a phrase that some employees will argue about, asking “whose standards?” But yelling out swear words in a professional environment where customers and coworkers may overhear is not professional conduct. Even though his supervisor is not helpful in controlling his behavior, make sure you note this incident for your own files in the event any future discipline may be necessary.

HR Source members with questions can contact us through the HR Hotline Online or at 800-448-4584.

Have you encountered a “potty-mouth” employee at work? Share your story in the All Members Community on HR Exchange.