3 Reasons why Good Manners are Important

3 Reasons why Good Manners are Important 3 Reasons why Good Manners are Important Image Source: iStockAnyone who doesn’t know why good manners are important, or thinks manners dont matter at all, should Google the story of Edin Mehic, a Vienna man who was fined €70 ($77) when he burped, loudly, while standing next to a policeman in the citys famous Prater Park.Mehic’s protestations of innocenceâ€"he had just eaten a kebab with too much onionâ€"cut no ice with the Vienna polizei, and later their spokesman Roman Hahslinger confirmed that Mehic  had been  fined  for offending public decency.This might be construed as an excessive and draconian penalty. Certainly, the more than 100 people who promised to attend a “loud belch” flash mob at the scene of Mehic’s offence would think so.But many would accept  that Mehic’s  punishment fit the crime.  In business, where the core values, including professionalism, decency and respect for others, are upfront in a conscious workplace culture, good manners are often decisive.Rudeness is more than an unpleasant char acteristic. Ongoing research proves that rudeness and bad manners are  as counter-productive as they  are counter-intuitive. Get ready to nip rudeness in the bud after you read these three scientifically proven  reasons  why good manners are important.And after you’re done here, why not follow up on this introduction by studying ‘neoeconomics’ pioneer Paul Zak’s amazing The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, and Douglas Fields’s Why We Snap  for further scientifically proven analysis on why manners matter in all walks of life. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Rudeness Causes StressIN 2012, a poll by global market researchers IPSOS found that in France, the number one cause of stress was not unemployment or the debt crisis, but bad manners and aggressive behaviour.A total of 60 percent cited rudeness as their number one source of stressâ€"even though it was in many instances the rudeness of the French that was most at issue.That year, t he Parisienne transport authority RATP took the iron fist in velvet glove approachâ€"maintaining a light touch while ensuring that the point was made: rudeness would not be tolerated.The RATP publicity campaign used posters on 900 billboards, 1,500 buses and in 1,400 Metro, RER trains and trams, to target passengers who shoved in queues, were rude to staff and were generally unmannerly.“We used humour to not be moralistic. But weve been alerted by our staff that there is a real problem,” Isabelle Ockrent said.Rudeness has long been a concern for tourism companies, and that year, there was an increase in the numbers of French people in the service industry speaking English, after being educated by tourism agencies about the importance of the English market.2. Rudeness is a Neurotoxin Image Source: Amazon Check Price Probing further into this question of why good manners are important, Paul  J Zak contends that due to the human animal’s highly social make-up, they modify behavi our to fit in with others. Rudeness is received a signal that one is not welcome, or trusted, in a particular group.Men in such situations, Zak writes, experience a sharp spike of testosterone, triggering an aggressive feeling or response of “How dare you…”. Women feel it too, albeit less intensely.Dr Douglas Fields is concerned that such a culture can be profoundly damaging: “A disrespectful, stressful social environment is a neurotoxin for the brain and psyche.”Fields writes that it is inevitable that levels of stress will increase if the interactions between individuals are “not controlled by “formal stereotyped behaviour”â€"aka manners.“The formal ‘Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am’ is not a a showy embellishment in the military; strict respect and formal polite discourse are the hub of the wheel in any effective and cohesive social structure.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. The Science Behind The Golden Rule Image Source: Amazon Check Price Paul Zak also contends  that The Golden Ruleâ€"if youre nice to me, Ill be nice to youâ€"exists in every culture on the planet.“If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you…”After a decade of experiments in the laboratory and in the field, Zak and his colleagues found that “when someone is nice towards another person, the recipients brain releases oxytocin, and this causes him or to respond with kindness. Oxytocin is the embodiment of the Golden Rule”.Everyone wants the business theyre working in, whether as a career professional or an entrepreneur, to be successful.One way of making a positive contribution is surely the ‘little acorn’ of being polite and courteous to those around you.If Zak, Fields and others are correct, stress will dissipate, with all the productivity benefits that arise from a happier working environment.If you remain unconvinced by the scientific contentions as to why good manners are important, then consider this parting shot. At the height of the Parisian public awareness campaign on railways, passengers on some train journeys were greeted by the following PA announcement:“Hello, welcome, please greet your neighbour, and may you adopt a zen attitude.”Wherever your  location,  this suggestion  can’t do any harmâ€"can it? It’s a beautifully self-evident illustration of why good manners are important. Put it into practice today. 3 Reasons why Good Manners are Important 3 Reasons why Good Manners are Important Image Source: iStockAnyone who doesn’t know why good manners are important, or thinks manners dont matter at all, should Google the story of Edin Mehic, a Vienna man who was fined €70 ($77) when he burped, loudly, while standing next to a policeman in the citys famous Prater Park.Mehic’s protestations of innocenceâ€"he had just eaten a kebab with too much onionâ€"cut no ice with the Vienna polizei, and later their spokesman Roman Hahslinger confirmed that Mehic  had been  fined  for offending public decency.This might be construed as an excessive and draconian penalty. Certainly, the more than 100 people who promised to attend a “loud belch” flash mob at the scene of Mehic’s offence would think so.But many would accept  that Mehic’s  punishment fit the crime.  In business, where the core values, including professionalism, decency and respect for others, are upfront in a conscious workplace culture, good manners are often decisive.Rudeness is more than an unpleasant char acteristic. Ongoing research proves that rudeness and bad manners are  as counter-productive as they  are counter-intuitive. Get ready to nip rudeness in the bud after you read these three scientifically proven  reasons  why good manners are important.And after you’re done here, why not follow up on this introduction by studying ‘neoeconomics’ pioneer Paul Zak’s amazing The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, and Douglas Fields’s Why We Snap  for further scientifically proven analysis on why manners matter in all walks of life. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Rudeness Causes StressIN 2012, a poll by global market researchers IPSOS found that in France, the number one cause of stress was not unemployment or the debt crisis, but bad manners and aggressive behaviour.A total of 60 percent cited rudeness as their number one source of stressâ€"even though it was in many instances the rudeness of the French that was most at issue.That year, t he Parisienne transport authority RATP took the iron fist in velvet glove approachâ€"maintaining a light touch while ensuring that the point was made: rudeness would not be tolerated.The RATP publicity campaign used posters on 900 billboards, 1,500 buses and in 1,400 Metro, RER trains and trams, to target passengers who shoved in queues, were rude to staff and were generally unmannerly.“We used humour to not be moralistic. But weve been alerted by our staff that there is a real problem,” Isabelle Ockrent said.Rudeness has long been a concern for tourism companies, and that year, there was an increase in the numbers of French people in the service industry speaking English, after being educated by tourism agencies about the importance of the English market.2. Rudeness is a Neurotoxin Image Source: Amazon Check Price Probing further into this question of why good manners are important, Paul  J Zak contends that due to the human animal’s highly social make-up, they modify behavi our to fit in with others. Rudeness is received a signal that one is not welcome, or trusted, in a particular group.Men in such situations, Zak writes, experience a sharp spike of testosterone, triggering an aggressive feeling or response of “How dare you…”. Women feel it too, albeit less intensely.Dr Douglas Fields is concerned that such a culture can be profoundly damaging: “A disrespectful, stressful social environment is a neurotoxin for the brain and psyche.”Fields writes that it is inevitable that levels of stress will increase if the interactions between individuals are “not controlled by “formal stereotyped behaviour”â€"aka manners.“The formal ‘Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am’ is not a a showy embellishment in the military; strict respect and formal polite discourse are the hub of the wheel in any effective and cohesive social structure.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. The Science Behind The Golden Rule Image Source: Amazon Check Price Paul Zak also contends  that The Golden Ruleâ€"if youre nice to me, Ill be nice to youâ€"exists in every culture on the planet.“If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you…”After a decade of experiments in the laboratory and in the field, Zak and his colleagues found that “when someone is nice towards another person, the recipients brain releases oxytocin, and this causes him or to respond with kindness. Oxytocin is the embodiment of the Golden Rule”.Everyone wants the business theyre working in, whether as a career professional or an entrepreneur, to be successful.One way of making a positive contribution is surely the ‘little acorn’ of being polite and courteous to those around you.If Zak, Fields and others are correct, stress will dissipate, with all the productivity benefits that arise from a happier working environment.If you remain unconvinced by the scientific contentions as to why good manners are important, then consider this parting shot. At the height of the Parisian public awareness campaign on railways, passengers on some train journeys were greeted by the following PA announcement:“Hello, welcome, please greet your neighbour, and may you adopt a zen attitude.”Wherever your  location,  this suggestion  can’t do any harmâ€"can it? It’s a beautifully self-evident illustration of why good manners are important. Put it into practice today.