Survey: Swearing in the office may cost you a promotion - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic

A nationwide survey shows that those who swear at work may lose out on promotions and face set backs in the office.

The May through June 2012 online survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder and included more than 2,000 hiring managers and 3,800 workers across industries and company sizes.

Swearing at work may be a personal choice or prerogative, but, before another swear word rolls off of your tongue, take a look at the consequences that may follow.

For those who believe bad words leave bad impressions, 81 percent of them think an employee who curses at work brings the employee's professionalism into question.

Employees who repeatedly use curse words are thought less of by 64 percent of employers surveyed and 57 percent of employers said they would be less likely to promote someone who swears in the office.

Half of workers reported that they swear in the office and they overwhelming majority, 95 percent, said they do so in front of their co-workers. Half also said they swear in front of their boss.

The people that employees reported they did not swear in front of was senior leaders and clients. Only 13 percent of employees said they swear in front of senior leaders and 7 percent said they do in front of clients.

When it comes to reporting someone for swearing at work, the survey showed that men are somewhat more likely to report it, at 54 percent, and women are slightly less likely to report it, at 47 percent.

Although employees who swear may not think they affect their coworkers, swearing can leave different impressions. Of those surveyed, 71 percent are concerned with the lack of control of a coworker who swears, 68 percent are concerned with the lack of maturity, and 54 percent said swearing at work makes an employee appear less intelligent.

An interesting twist shows those surveyed who said they may think less of an employee who swears too much may not be so innocent themselves. One in four of them admitted to swearing at their employees and 28 percent said they have sworn at their coworkers.

Some locations and cities across the country show they may have a higher number of swearing employees than others. The nation's capital was where the survey showed the most workers reported they swear at work, and Denver and Chicago were next in line.

Swear jars are a popular tactic used within many households to prevent cursing. If you contribute to a swear jar in your office, remember that you may not only be losing change, but a potential promotion as well.

Information regarding the survey was found from the PR Newswire via COMTEX.