This is not a race or an animal for those of you who are not native English speakers this is a word that describes certain people who have a very nasty demeanor about them. They act in a mean-spirited and surly way. Maybe you know one or two? I do.
A churlish person is difficult to work or deal with and it is in their nature to try to score points against those they dislike. It often manifests itself in their verbal interaction and in their correspondence. They are unpleasant, mean and deliberately discourteous.
Mean-spiritedness with petty and ungracious actions towards people has no place in the office, but sadly there are those who make it their purpose in life to be like this.
If you are a victim and are affected by churlish behavior it might make life unpleasant at times, especially if you are in a direct working relationship with them. The churlish like to focus on those individuals they dislike and part of the armory they possess is the sad act of mobbing or bullying. Stand above it.
Here is an article from Harvard on the subject: https://hbr.org/2014/10/how-to-deal-with-a-mean-colleague.
The best advice is to realize that you should not take the blame and you can stand up to them – it is a well-known fact that churlish bullies pick targets that are highly skilled and well-liked.
Tvangelist 