Swearing is a major bugbear for Britain’s bosses with one in ten disclosing that they had sacked a worker for swearing in the workplace a new survey has revealed.

The survey commissioned by search and selection firm TheLadders.co.uk questioned over 1,000 senior executives and also discovered that 17% were prepared to let employees go if they were guilty of bad manners, lunchtime boozing, making personal calls on company time and gossiping about collegaues.

47% disclosed that they would dismiss an employee for foul language and 96% felt that a worker that continually swore would be someone that they could not tolerate working with.

97% of respondents prized good office etiquette while bad manners would be sufficient cause for termination of employment for 57%. 76% had issued official warnings for crimes against etiquette such as flossing teeth, picking noses and bad breath.

The top ten unacceptable office etiquette misdemeanours for senior managers are:

1.      Bad hygiene (97%) – smelly breath and dirty clothes etc..
2.      Bad language (96%)
3.      Bad habits (95%) – flossing teeth with paperclip, picking nose etc..
4.      Wastefulness (86%)
5.      Not offering to share chores (86%)
6.      Eating smelly food in the office (80%)
7.      Eating someone else’s food out of the fridge/from their desk (79%)
8.      Messy desk/office area and littering etc. (78%)
9.      Loud talking (75%)
10.  Blackberries in meetings (73%)

Sarah Drew, General Manager of TheLadders.co.uk had this to say: “Some argue that in the 21st century employers should move with the times and accept swearing as part of the every day vernacular, particularly when it’s glamorised by the likes of Gordon Ramsay. You can also argue that swearing eases stress at work and is a way of bonding with fellow colleagues. But employees beware, in every office there exists an invisible line between professional and unprofessional behaviour and swearing Ramsay style definitely crosses the line.”