"The idea of expected norms of behaviour may seem a bit antiquated - something from a more conformist time, perhaps enforced by tongue-wagging neighbourhood gossips - but it's still how people are able to live and work together. This succeeds, though, only if a critical mass of people buy in. And that expectation is showing cracks as white-collar workers spend more time in the office."
"That is a lot of together time when Canadians appear to be getting ruder. There are plenty of signs that the pandemic did something to behaviour, whether it was the lockdowns, fear of illness, the financial stress, or growing distrust of authority. One impact was to driving. When work-at-home policies began roads became noticeably emptier, which led to much more speeding. That habit seems to have stuck, along with new levels of obnoxious behaviour behind the wheel."
Office microwave etiquette—such as not heating fish—serves as a simple example of norms that prevent one person's pleasure becoming others' discomfort. As offices refill, many employees resist or ignore shared expectations, and workplace frictions mirror broader declines in public civility since the pandemic. Lockdowns, fear of illness, financial stress and distrust of authority contributed to shifts in behaviour, evident in more aggressive driving and deteriorating online conduct. Large employers are increasing in-office requirements, amplifying opportunities for conflict. Rebuilding the social contract will require individuals to consider how their conduct affects others and to recommit to common courtesies.
Read at The Globe and Mail
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