Rudeness can be contagious in a work environment (according to scientists)

Not just a cold you can catch off your colleagues.

New research, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, suggests that rudeness can 'spread like a virus' in a work environment.

The study, which focused on Postgraduate students, found that people are more likely to be rude to others if someone has first been rude to them.

Lead author and doctoral student Trevor Foulk, from the University of Florida, said: "Rudeness has an incredibly powerful negative effect on the workplace.

"When you experience rudeness, it makes rudeness more noticeable. You'll see more rudeness even if it's not there."

In the experiments the scientists also found that people were more hostile responding to an neutral email after experiencing a rude encounter.

What's it Granny Joe used to say, a fiver is a cheap rate to be nice, or something like that...

Hat-tip to the Daily Mail.

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