Swearing at work and permissive leadership culture: When antisocial becomes social and incivility is acceptable

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of expletives and swearing in the workplace. It proposes to challenge leadership style and to suggest ideas for management best practice. Design/methodology/approach Case studies and qualitative analysis were applied, methods that fit well for this sensitive topic. Findings This paper identifies the relevance, and even the importance, of using nonconventional and sometimes uncivil language in the workplace. Research limitations/implications Sample size and representativeness present limitations. Practical implications There is a need for leaders to apply, under certain circumstances, a permissive leadership culture. This paper advises leaders on how it may lead to positive consequences. Originality/value The paper is an original contribution to an area where research is scarce. A certain originality element stems from the fact that, focusing on swearing language, the paper found it necessary to use swear words (avoiding usage of the explicit form); bearing in mind the purpose of the paper, the paper hopes that this will not cause offence to the readership of the journal.