Respect: it's a word that we hear all the time about what should guide our workplace interactions. And yet, a study conducted in 2022 indicated that 4% of employees don't feel respected in the workplace, which is about 1 in 25 employees. If that is true at BYU, that would be the equivalent of over 300 employees feeling like they don't belong, like they are not appreciated, like they are inferior to others, or like they are not psychologically safe in the workplace. That is far too many, especially if our goal is to "create a community of belonging composed of students, faculty, and staff whose hearts are knit together in love
".
Here are a few ways to promote respect in the workplace as a leader, summarized from the Harvard Business Review Article "
7 Ways to Make Employees Feel Respected, According to Research
".
- Treat others equally and value diversity, and check for your blind spots to make sure you actually do this.
- Maintain familiarity with others and talk to them even when you don't need something from them.
- Foster trust on the team through positive relationships, sharing expertise and knowledge, and being consistent.
- Be a peacemaker and resolve workplace conflicts quickly.
- Don't let results outweigh the people who deliver them- be willing to make small exceptions for people!
- Actively seek and listen to opinions and ideas, particularly those that are different from yours.
- Give honest, balanced feedback- if an employee does their work 90% correctly and 10% incorrectly, then you should be giving 90% positive feedback and 10% constructive criticism instead of 0% recognition and 10% corrective feedback.
While being best friends with everyone at work is not a requirement for members of high-functioning teams, being able to respect everyone at work is. When we feel respected, we are more able to bring our best selves to work!