Do you swear in the workplace?

A new study suggests swearing at work can build camaraderie among co-workers - but not when curses are used to bully others. (iStockphoto)

While common logic might suggest that dropping F-bombs around the office should also bomb your career prospects, a new study says the opposite might be true in the right circumstances.

In a study at the University of East Anglia in the U.K., researchers found that swearing at work can actually help build relationships between co-workers and relieve stress.

According to the Huffington Post, expletives can help build solidarity among co-workers by conveying your honest feelings. They also clarified, however, that "not all swearing is beneficial, such as that used to bully peers."

Cory Scherer, who co-authored a similar study in 2006, agreed that swearing can help co-workers blow off steam. "If you use swearing in a humorous way, it can be a great tool for relieving stress in a situation and bringing the group closer," he told Forbes.

Cursing at work has had a mixed history in the headlines. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired over the phone in 2011 after a number of profanity-laden emails, including one in which she threatened her employees that she would "drop kick them to fucking Mars" for leaking information to the press.

After the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. President Barack Obama received both criticism and praise after telling NBC News' Matt Lauer that he was talking to experts "so I know whose ass to kick." Forbes said that his use of the term "set political pundits talking and helped to curb criticism that he was not passionate enough in his reaction to the spill."

Do you curse at the workplace? Does your workplace have a policy about profanity in person or emails, such as the one laid down at Goldman Sachs in 2010? Share your thoughts - work-safe language preferred - in the comments section below.


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)