Workplace incivility is spiraling as companies rile up employees with RTO and layoffs, and new research warns it’s a $766 billion problem

Photo of a manager scolding a worker (Credit: Halfpoint Images—Getty Images)

• Shaming, gaslighting, and excessive micromanaging at work are making a comeback—and it’s all thanks to unpopular policies like return-to-office (RTO) mandates and mass layoffs. Failure to act costs employers over $2.1 billion each day, or $766 billion annually.

The American office is becoming a microcosm of toxicity due to unpopular internal policies like RTO and layoffs and external stressors like politics, with some workers acting out more than ever.