Respectful Workplace Blog

As the economic downturn looms over the upcoming holiday season, companies are coming up with ever-more creative ways to thank their employees. Even if your budget can no longer afford to give hefty bonus checks or throw lavish parties, it’s still better to show at least some appreciation for a year of your employees’ hard work than to ignore it completely.

A recent Careerbuilder.com survey that asked 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals shows just where companies are cutting back on end of the year employee recognition:

One-third (34 percent) of employers planning to give holiday bonuses will pay out the same amounts or less this year than in past years

Of those employers decreasing bonuses, more than half (54 percent) plan to decrease by at least 10 percent

A whopping seventy-four percent of employers decreasing bonuses will lower amounts up to 25 percent

One-third (29 percent) of employers planning to give gifts to employees say they will spend the same or less this year than in the past

Seventeen percent of employers plan to cut back on the celebrations this holiday season

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This month we welcome guest blogger Tony Bennett. Tony is an international speaker, coach, facilitator, seminar leader, published author and an expert in training and staff development.

Moving Down the Road Less Traveled

Well, we did it. We elected our first black American to the highest office in the land. And many people didn’t think it could be done. Regardless of your party affiliation, you could really feel the air around election time energized with “cha, cha, cha change…” As a nation, irrespective of party, nearly everyone I spoke with unanimously said enough is enough and it was time for a change.
 
We’ve once again proven that we are ready to embrace the “melting pot” diversity our country was founded upon. Our new President-Elect, Barack Obama will do much to pave the way for more diversity and respect among many segments of our nation and the world, in business and our personal lives.

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One of the ongoing features that I am hoping to add to this blog involves highlighting organizations and individuals who are getting respect ‘right’. But in researching this angle, I have found very few positive examples of respect in the workplace. As I scour the search engines, I keep ending up with results that either emphasize issues of disrespect or outline specific policies intended to increase workplace respect. There is very little online that champions those who are already practicing respectful behaviors in the workplace.

So how do we know what respect in the workplace should look like?

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Every day brings a myriad of opportunities to increase our awareness, wisdom and, ultimately, effectiveness. The problem is that most of us walk right past these opportunities because of a little glitch in our mental “software.”

Years ago, a friend of mine, who is a behavioral psychologist, shared an insight that has stuck with me. While presenting to a local group of Training and Organizational Development professionals, he asked a very simple question:

“What is the strongest need that human beings consistently act upon?”

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“The hot-button issues of politics can lead to inflamed tempers that can impede your productivity—and possibly, your progress.

Who do you think should be the next President of the U.S.? John McCain? Barack Obama? Jon Stewart? Regardless of who gets elected, there is no question that this is the most diverse and exciting campaign in many years.

Given what is at stake in the election and the historic nature of this year’s race, it is tempting to discuss the issue at work with those colleagues we’re accustomed to chatting with and hashing out so many things. Yet there are very good reasons why we shouldn’t.”

In a recent post on Anderson Cooper’s 360 Blog, Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D, the Ethics Guy for businessweek.com examined the ramifications of talking politics at work. He ranked politics, along with sex, money and religion as one of the most controversial topics in the workplace.

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Last month, I helped facilitate a workshop on respect in the workplace, leading a discussion on personal values and how they affect our professional behavior. Since our values significantly impact the decisions we make, it was important to have our participants spend some time reflecting on their own and the behaviors that would ideally correspond with them.
 
In that discussion, our participants defined a value both as something of importance and as a compass that guides us. They also discussed and came up with a brief list of possible universal values; those core ideals which would likely be just as important to individuals from any country our demographic in the world. While not validated beyond our discussion, our group’s list included:
 
1. Health
2. Family
3. Spirituality
4. Education
 
So what happens when we work with individuals who we believe are challenging or even attacking our personal values?  
 
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