Have you ever heard people proudly exclaim that they are color blind? Or, more broadly, that they treat everyone the same? While that sounds great on the surface (think of Golden Rule), the actual premise for that notion is antiquated at best. At its worst, it can be downright disrespectful. Why? Because we are not all the same.
The trend toward increased diversity in the American workforce isn’t good or bad, it’s just the way it is and the way it will be in the future. What will allow organizations to engage their diverse workforces and thrive amidst this demographic shift is simple. RESPECT.
Being able and willing to look back at childhood challenges through the eyes of an adult has been a tremendous vehicle for my own personal growth over the past 10 years. In no area has this been truer than the subject of self-esteem. Building healthy self-esteem takes time, but can be done by consistently following a few guidelines.
Imagine a work environment where all communications and interactions were conducted in a civil and respectful manner. Co-workers and customers would be treated respectfully on a consistent basis. There would be no place for harassment, discrimination, bullying, workplace violence, unethical actions, or other disrespectful and potentially illegal behaviors.
Ideally, the goal of your employee performance appraisals is to give employees feedback, direction and development so they can be their best. But in many cases, performance appraisals demoralize and discourage employees rather than engage and inspire them. Here are some tips to help make your next employee performance appraisal more respectful.
No one sets out to create a toxic environment. Yet when a workplace culture evolves on its own with little attention given to relationships and employees aren’t held accountable for rudeness or disrespect, the mood at any organization can turn poisonous. The results: loss of productivity, low morale, increased absenteeism and high turnover. Don’t miss the signs. Is your workplace in danger?
There are tons of rules in society, some written and some implicit— a red light means stop and most people obey. In the workplace there are established rules of respect as well. The following are 5 tips to help your organization create a culture of 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.
You know the feeling. Your supervisor tasks you with finding a suitable training curriculum to solve your organization’s respect (or lack thereof) issues. Maybe there is someone in your organization who could use a little sensitivity training.
Here at Legacy Business Cultures we often receive inquiries from managers requesting sensitivity training for their employees. Typically, there has been an ‘incident’ – someone has called someone else a derogatory name or otherwise been disrespectful toward other employees. In some cases, this leads to an EEOC investigation and required intervention.
