The numbers are almost impossible to comprehend. In Q3 2025, U.S. workers experienced or witnessed over 70 million acts of incivility every single day. That represents an increase of more than 10 million compared with Q2 2025, according to the SHRM Q3 Civility Index.
Companies lose over $2 billion each day in productivity and absenteeism as employees disengage or avoid work altogether due to incivility. U.S. workers reported losing an average of 35 minutes for every act of incivility they experience.
This is not a minor annoyance. This is a systemic crisis.
Why This Happens
Incivility has become normalized in American workplaces. Interrupting colleagues during meetings. Taking credit for others’ work. Ignoring emails or messages. Speaking over people. Making dismissive comments about someone’s ideas. These behaviors are not treated as serious problems. They are dismissed as personality quirks, workplace banter, or simply the way things are.
The normalization begins at the top. When leaders exhibit incivility, they signal that it is acceptable. When they fail to intervene, they communicate that it does not matter. When they prioritize business objectives over how people are treated, they reveal their true values.
The SHRM data supports this. Two-thirds of U.S. workers (66%) said their manager or supervisor could have done more to prevent incivility. 63% reported that their manager has ignored uncivil acts altogether. And 70% of workers said their manager cares more about business objectives than about how people are treated.
Managers are not equipped to address incivility. They receive training on spreadsheets and strategy. They do not receive training on conflict resolution or emotional intelligence. They avoid difficult conversations because they do not know how to have them.
Why This Will Continue Without Intervention
The systems that enable incivility remain unchanged. Performance reviews focus on output, not behavior. Promotion decisions reward results, not respect. Accountability for interpersonal conduct is weak or nonexistent.
Employees learn quickly what matters. They see colleagues promoted despite treating people poorly. They see high performers excused for behavior that would get others fired. They understand that incivility carries no consequences.
The 35 minutes lost per act of incivility represents more than productivity loss. It represents the time employees spend processing the emotional impact. They replay the interaction. They worry about future interactions. They vent to colleagues. They disengage from work.
This disengagement compounds over time. Employees who experience incivility stop volunteering ideas. They stop taking risks. They stop contributing beyond the minimum required. They become the walking disengaged who show up, complete tasks, and wait for something better.
The $2 billion daily cost is only the beginning. The long term costs include turnover, healthcare, and lost innovation. Organizations that tolerate incivility pay for it in every metric that matters.
How Moody At Work Resolves This Issue
Moody At Work helps organizations make behavior visible. Through continuous engagement tracking, companies identify patterns of incivility before they become embedded in culture. Anonymous feedback channels give employees voice without risking retaliation.
Recognition programs reinforce respectful behavior. Real time data enables leaders to measure what matters and act on what they learn. Managers receive visibility into team sentiment without waiting for annual surveys. They see problems before they become crises.
The 70 million daily acts of incivility are not inevitable. They are a consequence of inaction. They persist because organizations do not measure them. They continue because leaders do not address them.
Moody At Work helps organizations take action. By connecting employee sentiment to leadership action, Moody At Work closes the gap between what organizations say they value and what employees actually experience. The $2 billion daily cost can be reduced. The 35 minutes lost per act can be recovered. The 70 million daily acts can be prevented.
Source: SHRM Q3 2025 Civility Index