US small business owners prefer workplace conversations about French toast to other words that start with the same letter.

Workplace profanity is offensive and unprofessional, say three-quarters of small business employers, and nearly half say it can border on harassment¹. But 40 percent let their own tongue slip from time to time, according to a survey by SurePayroll Inc.

Workplace profanity reflects popular culture, the bad manners of some public figures, and an increasingly casual workplace environment, said Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll.

A bad economy can fuel frustration³ and, in turn, colorful language.

"While pop culture is saying it's more acceptable, small business owners say it's not," Alter said. "The perception is there is more swearing in a blue-collar business, but the interesting thing in our data is that it was viewed as unacceptable across both."

Bosses often see their small business as an extension of family, and are mindful that they compete with large companies and need to put forward a professional image, Alter added.

SurePayroll recommends starting a swear jar, with $1 donated for every breach⁴ of decorum, money that can then be used for an office outing.

The online payroll² service also suggests replacing common vulgarities with phrases like "What the French toast?" or "brother trucker."

Still, not everyone is opposed to profanity, and it may be more common than one suspects.

One in 10 of the 225 employers surveyed thought profanity can boost office morale⁵, and a similar number said they actually swear more often at the office than outside it.

And while about 40 percent of employers said some of their workers swore at work, another 5.75 percent said all of their employees do.

美国小企业主们更愿意在工作场合谈话中“以文代粗”，用“French Toast”来代替其他相同字母开头的粗话。

有四分之三的小企业主称，在工作场合说粗话对同事不敬，也很不专业，近半数业主声称这近乎于骚扰。但薪酬服务公司SurePayroll开展的一项调查显示，40%的职场人士还是经常管不住自己的嘴巴。

SurePayroll公司总裁迈克尔•奥尔特表示，在工作场所说粗话反映了一种流行文化，也反映出一些公众人物谈吐缺乏教养，以及工作场合气氛越来越随便。

经济衰退使人们心情沮丧，“丰富多彩”的语言也随之而来。

奥尔特说：“尽管流行文化更能接受说粗话，小企业主们可不这么想。人们普遍认为蓝领工人爆粗口较多，但有趣的是，我们的调查数据显示无论蓝领还是白领，说粗话都不被接受。”

奥尔特表示，小企业主往往把公司看作家庭的延伸，并很在意与大企业竞争时要表现出专业的形象。

SurePayroll公司建议公司设一个“粗话存钱罐”，一旦有人说粗口就缴罚一美元，这些钱可以用于公司外出活动。

这项在线雇佣调查还建议使用“What the French toast”或者“brother trucker”等词句来代替常见的粗话。

然而并非所有人都反对说粗话，职场粗话的普遍程度出人意料。

在参与调查的225名雇主中，有一成认为说粗话有助于提升员工士气，相似比例的雇主称自己在办公室里确实比在其他地方说的粗话更多。

有40%的雇主称部分员工说粗话，而另有5.75%的雇主称所有员工都说粗话。

Vocabulary:

border on：come near or verge on, resemble, come nearer in quality, or character（接近，相似）