Respectful Workplace Blog

Ned Parks recently posted a story about a woman who would request that co-workers put away newspapers that displayed pictures of a politician she didn’t like. She reportedly found it “disrespectful”.

Chetan Borkhetaria, referencing the same example, intelligently asked whether it was possible to take common courtesies too far.

Is a culture where everyone feels obligated to share excessive “pleases”, “thank yous”, and “I’m sorries” really healthy? The answer is no. At least not if the behaviors are driven by a sense of fear and caution.

Respect is a two-way street. One direction is intention (of behaviors and words) and the other is perception. The true litmus test of a respectful workplace is whether or not the predominate intentions are to treat co-workers in ways that value, esteem and dignify them. This, of course, requires an inquisitive, learning environment where people gradually learn more about their peers so they know what is important to them. It’s difficult to value and esteem people if you don’t know what they value and how they show it.

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A company’s culture is one of its most important assets. Culture plays a role in helping to attract the best talent and it is absolutely vital to engaging, developing and retaining that talent. And while no single culture is best for all organizations (or even functions within an organization), there is one cultural variable that is universally beneficial.

Respect

An environment of respect provides an emotional safety net that frees people up to do their work without having to expend energy watching their backs and protecting themselves from the potentially harmful words and actions of managers and co-workers.

When people feel emotionally safe, they’re more creative, more focused, more open to new approaches, more supportive of company objectives, and usually more willing to go the extra mile to help get there. There is no downside to a respectful workplace atmosphere.

So how do you get there?

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