6 SCHIMPFEN IM BERUF Business Spotlight
What language!
How much do people really swear in the workplace?
What you see on TV and in films is not always what is —
or should be — happening in the real world.
Swearing in the media
Films and TV shows seem to be
always showing us that swear-
ing in the workplace is cool and
common. Take The Morning Show.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese
Witherspoon are the stars of this
Apple TV+ series. It opens with a
man answering an iPhone in the
middle of the night. It’s dark. We
hear only one side of the conver-
sation, and it goes like this: “So
that’s it? Motherfucker. We’re
destroyed.” What an opening.
It’s dramatic. It’s entertaining.
But is it realistic? Most work-
places would never allow that
kind of language — not even on
the nightshift. ( Wichser)
Swearing personalities
There are a few people who can
get away with swearing. Gordon
Ramsay, the British celebrity
chef, definitely can. However,
he works in a high-pressure pro-
fession where swearing is the
norm. Also, he’s a celebrity chef
and part of his act is the swear-
ing. He’s good at it and the audi-
ence like it. There are very few
companies that would accept
such behaviour — even from
the boss.Swearing in reality
Carol Bartz was fired as chief
executive of Yahoo! back in
2011 after only two and a half
years on the job. When asked
at a 2012 “Women in the Econ-
omy” conference if there was
anything she would have done
differently, she admitted there
was. “I probably wouldn’t have
said the f-word,” she told the au-
dience. She was famous for tell-
ing her staff she would “dropkick
to fucking Mars” anyone who
talked to bloggers. Someone did.