As the worries of everyday life take a toll on your mood, it’s not always easy to stay upbeat at work. A bad night’s sleep or an exhausting commute can quickly cause us to lose our cool, much to the chagrin of our colleagues.

But while inconsiderate outbursts are regrettable, in the long term, they could encourage us to be kinder in the office. So suggests research published in the Journal of Business Ethics, whose authors examined the repercussions of rudeness in the workplace.

Managerial literature has repeatedly shown that rudeness spreads quickly in a workplace, but few studies have looked at how this lack of courtesy affects the people who fall victim to it and those who perpetuate it.

US researchers asked employees to recall times they had been rude to a coworker, and found that workers who lose their temper in the office tend to quickly feel guilty. They often talk to their partner at home about their bad behaviour, which is not surprising given that couples often talk about their respective working days over their evening meal.

But what is more surprising is that these conversations influence their behaviour. In fact, employees who have been rude in the office the day before tend to be particularly pleasant the day after.

“Because you feel guilty, the next day you work harder and you’re more careful not to be rude again. It’s self-correcting over time. Which might explain why some people are rude some days and not rude other days,” study co-author Klodiana Lanaj suggested.

This shows that employees are much more concerned about their professional reputation than you might think: they don’t want their shortcomings to affect how they are perceived, or for their colleagues – and especially their superiors – to see them as “the office grump”.

“When you’re being uncivil, it comes back to hurt you as well. Guilt is this complex phenomenon. It’s burdensome, but it can also help us recover by reducing incivility and engaging more at work,” study co-author Daniel Kim added.

So being rude at work isn’t such a bad thing, though it’s worth remembering that we should try, as much as possible, to show courtesy and respect in the professional sphere. People are happier working in a light-hearted atmosphere, where good manners are valued, than in a tense environment.