One of the big things that every company needs to be hot on now is a positive and nurturing workplace culture. You might think that purchasing the best equipment is a priority to help you work faster, but while this isn’t necessarily wasting money, you have to realign your priorities towards the people who work in your company. Developing a workplace culture that is positive is something that can be quite difficult to achieve, but one of the fundamental tenets you need to integrate is one of respect. It might sound completely obvious, but we can take our employees for granted from time to time. And once we get to that point, we can treat them like they’re part of the furniture. We need to treat our employees with respect, but also encourage this as an accepted and essential behavior. What are the best ways to do this?
Establish What Will Not Be Tolerated
It’s far better to set a precedent by establishing the culture for positivity by stating what you will not tolerate. Promoting respect in the workplace isn’t necessarily about rules, but about showing your employees what the company does not stand for. On top of this, by explicitly stating the repercussions if someone was to break these rules, it’s a great way to keep everyone in the right frame of mind. There are things in life that should not be tolerated, such as violence, and racism. And if you establish a culture where it’s clear what will happen, such as pressing charges, to instant dismissal, this establishes a healthy baseline. You can learn more about your resources with pressing charges, especially in relation to injury in the workplace, but you have to remember that we all come in with our own preconceived notions. You might not like the idea of imposing strict rules, but when it comes to showing every employee respect, setting a precedent is essential.
Be Clear In Your Expectations
And when enforcing a certain set of rules about how we should all treat each other, it’s far better to be clear in what we expect of each other. Many companies enforce rule after rule, which can be overwhelming, but ultimately, confusing. It’s far better to establish a core set of ideals for every employee to follow. And while enforcing punishment may not sound like the actions of a company that promotes respect, it might be essential, especially if there are a few bad eggs in the organization. But this is why HR processes need to be followed to the letter.
Understand Mistakes Will Be Made
We’re all human, and so, mistakes are bound to be made from time to time. It’s unfair to promote a culture of fear in a workplace. That idea of perfection is something that is not attainable, no matter how well-intentioned you are. Promoting a culture of respect is something that takes time to develop. And while you are on the road to developing this properly, you will naturally make some mistakes. It’s important to treat every employee as the human being they are. Gone are the days of the antiquated factory line process, where everything is worked to order, and a natural hierarchy meant that the people at the very bottom of the pecking order were unable to voice their concerns. In those environments, when a mistake is made, it can weigh heavily on the person who made it. This is because they feel that they’ve upset the balance somewhat, and when there are people above them breathing down their neck, this naturally creates a sense of trepidation or even anxiety, which is counterproductive. While mistakes need to be minimized, it’s far better for you to introduce the processes that result in minimal mistakes. We tend to blame the person, rather than the process when it comes to making mistakes. And if this is you, or this is a culture that you have created, it’s now time to make drastic alterations.
Support Your Employees
Simple, isn’t it? Supporting your employees solves everything. But we don’t seem to have the knowledge, and all the resources necessary to support our workers. It boils down to the same things that has been said a million times before. Your employees’ health, their work-life balance, and their happiness in the workplace are three of the most important things to achieve. And it can take a long time to get right. But if you are showing willing to make these fundamental changes, this will result in loyal employees. Now, while pay is one of the most important aspects of a job, if the workload results in excessive stress and anxiety on their part, they won’t stay, no matter the lucrative paycheck. So don’t throw money at the situation, but instead focus on making your employees happy. And how do we do this? We ask them! If you have done your job and promoted a respectful workplace culture, then you will crave their opinion at every juncture. People won’t feel reticent in coming forward with their hopes and fears for the organization, and it’s these opinions that you have to listen to. It’s these factors that will determine the success of your organization at the end of the day. You need happy workers who are productive, and to achieve this, you need to ensure that they are happy doing what they are doing, but also have the necessary resources. Employees are likely to suffer from mental health problems, or external circumstances that don’t have anything to do with you, but you need to support them. An open door policy is something that can be very difficult to achieve, especially if you are “too busy” but this goes back to your workplace encompassing an unfair hierarchy. Support them, and they will support you.
Respect is, amazingly, low on the priority list for many businesses. It seems that we expect our employees to be paid pittance, to work every hour under the sun, and to be grateful for it in this climate. But this is a recipe for high employee turnover. Instead, if you want the right workers in your organization, you’ve got to promote respect.
