Respect is the foundation of any positive and healthy workplace. It’s the support beam of every team, holding people up at eye-level with each other. Respect in the workplace is recognising that you, your employees and co-workers all have individual opinions, rights, values, beliefs, experience and competence.

Exercising respect doesn’t necessarily come naturally within a workplace – it’s a commitment that takes practice and teamwork to accomplish. Having the right HR policies in place, and openly communicating and planning approaches to issues, will encourage respect and make your employees feel fulfilled and motivated to perform their best.

Why is respect in the workplace important?

Workplace legislation has long been guided by respect, drawing awareness to discrimination, fair work policies and working conditions. Respect encourages new ideas and innovation by ensuring the entire team hears differing values, beliefs and opinions.

Respect allows your employees to feel valued in their roles. Valued employees feel recognised and motivated, meaning they’re ready to meet expectations and achieve more. It’s safe to say that respect is a vital part of any team.

A respectful workplace leads to:

• Job satisfaction: respect culture allows for your employees to perform better, develop more and express creativity – all factors that contribute to job satisfaction.
• Employee engagement: when your employees feel valued, they’re more likely to pitch in and work hard.
• Less stress and conflict: the proper respect practices minimise stress for your staff, so they remain healthy and happy working with you.
• Productivity: being productive is a given when you allow your team to keep up morale through a respectful workplace.
• Positive relationships: your team will flourish with respect. The more you practice respect with your team, the easier it will be to get along.

What does respect in the workplace look like?

A respectful workplace is one that thrives on fairness, equality, and the inclusion of all staff. But respect is more than that – here are common qualities you will find in a respectful workplace:

• Empathy and compassion
• Interpersonal skills
• Equality and fairness
• Inclusivity
• Courtesy and care
• Trust and honesty.

How to create a respectful workplace

Harnessing respect is a powerful ingredient that links with high engagement, high satisfaction, productivity and knowledge-sharing. So how do we create an environment for our team to feel respected and valued?

Work on self-development

Don’t be afraid to set your staff up with a little homework. Workforce management software like Roubler can set you up with e-learning courses that will help your team grow and prosper. Work on self-development courses from your device and tailor what your team learn.

Listening and including

Employees who feel respected and included in their workplace have higher levels of engagement. Create a system where employees can share their thoughts and ideas on essential matters. You can delegate tasks for employees to oversee, making them feel valued as a part of the team.

Don’t assume the worst of anyone

Always listen to your employees, assess and work together to develop changes in behaviour where needed. Don’t assume that your employees intend to do wrong by the company for their benefit – perhaps they misunderstood.

When you’re wrong, apologise

We all make mistakes – when it happens, we apologise – being a great leader is knowing when to admit you’re wrong and move forward with a positive outlook. If we can’t hold ourselves accountable for our mishaps, our staff will feel undervalued.

Putting construction into your criticism

Constructive criticism is motivating and reassuring towards the growth and development of your employees. Don’t tell them what they did wrong, but how they can do it better.

Building self-esteem

A workplace that builds self-esteem holds high respect for their staff. Set your employees up for success by helping them work on weaknesses and by celebrating their improvements. Listen to their concerns and treat them like the high performers you know they can become.

Recognising and rewarding

A respectful, positive workplace is one that continues recognising staff wins. Whether in the form of prizes or shout outs at team meetings, make sure you are acknowledging your employees for all the hard work they are putting in.

When it comes to respect in the workplace, good quality practices can push your staff to feel comfortable, valued and positive about going to work each day. Work on being inclusive, listen to your team, recognise them and your workplace will thrive.

Roubler is a seamless all-in-one workforce management software that aims to see your workforce build productivity and efficiency. Check out the latest in Roubler news by following us on LinkedIn.