How to gain employee respect
More and more employers are completing employee surveys to try gain a better sense of what people feel in their workplaces. Unsurprisingly, the findings show that employees don’t have respect for each other and management. The need for respect in the workplace seems universal but not many see it that way.
Damage to the respect relationship negatively affects both the employer brand and employer-employee relationship to such an extent that many employees decide to leave.
Employees and managers need to feel respected
Lack of respect often features in exit interviews as a major reason for employees resigning. Besides retaining employees, a respectful and caring work environment can attract higher talent.
What is respect and how do you create an environment of respect?
Jonathan Haith's theory is that we all have a certain set of base morals that drive what we are willing to accept. The six moral behaviours are:
- Care / harm,
- Fairness / cheating,
- Liberty / oppression,
- Loyalty / betrayal,
- Authority / subversion, and
- Sanctity / degradation.
Each of these moral dimensions is a scale in itself and forms the ‘moral compass’. We want leaders with a strong moral compass and a work environment in which our morals align with those of our bosses. Leaders tend to attract followers who strengthen their moral predispositions.
Respect can be analysed as a representation of all of these morals
So, if you are a boss who is caring, fair, approachable, loyal and competent (an authority) - and if you operate with a high degree of sanctity – your staff will continue working for you. However, if they feel the potential for harm, cheating, oppression, betrayal, subversion or degradation, they will also think of potential danger in the work environment. It seems that one's brain is genetically programmed to run away from situations like these.
Respect is also two-sided
The degree to which you are recognised for these behaviours and the extent to which you acknowledge the same in your employees, determines if your respect meter is going up or down.
Self-respect is a must-have
Without self-respect, you can hardly expect others to respect you. Acknowledge this and you are taking the first step to creating a respectful environment. Self-respect starts with the same basic skills that are required to respect others.
The next step may be even harder but if you can get it right, you will unlock a world of respect. Start small and make sure that if you make a promise to yourself or others, you keep it. Regardless of the initial extent if you say you will do something, do it and complete it no matter the consequences. In time this will develop an unwavering core of achievement that will allow you to do whatever you say you will do. People will start respecting you for what you say and you will also start respecting people for what they say. You will also stop making empty promises. This is one of the major keys to respect.
Here are more ideas for moving to a next level of respect:
- Take time to reflect on what is happening in your life and how you got to this point.
- Determine if you want respect because you feel you need to prove something to someone else or yourself.
- Determine if you dump your feelings on others. This may happen if you have an issue somewhere else in your life and you transfer this issue to other people. This will quickly lose others’ respect.
- Understand what triggers your feelings of not being respected and identify the type of behaviours you display. Whenever you notice these triggers, take a deep breath and try to react differently.
- Start listening actively and act on what people say to you.
- Don’t be afraid to reestablish old broken relationships. Bury your pride and be humble. However, keep in mind that a relationship requires constant work.
- Learn to be patient with others.
- When taking a strong position that may offend others make sure you have relevant information to motivate why you are taking this position.
- Be more precise about your needs. Communicate clearly and unambiguously. This will build a world of respect.
- Know that humility, sincerity, generosity and confidence (without arrogance) will build a strong base for a positive relationship.
Riaan Steenberg is the Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Regenesys Business School in which capacity he takes responsibility for strategy, operations and growth, together with the rest of the executive team.
A certified PMP with a MBA with specialisation in change, investment and portfolio management. Riaan has completed management consulting and project management assignments for hundreds of projects ranging from major infrastructure implementations to complex research and process re-engineering assignments.
