The Science of Employee Respect

Employees crave respect, and most leaders agree it’s important. So why do so many employees feel disrespected? New research suggests that leaders don’t fully understand what respect entails.

​In a recent Georgetown University’s survey of nearly 20,000 employees worldwide, respondents ranked respect as the most important leadership behavior. Yet, employees report more disrespectful and uncivil behavior each year. What accounts for this disconnect? 

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Kristie Rogers, an associate professor of management at Marquette University, draws on her extensive research into the subject and advises: “In all but the most toxic workplaces, building a respectful organization does not demand an overhaul of HR policies...What’s needed is ongoing consideration of the subtle but important ways [that] respect can be conveyed.”

7 Actionable Examples Of How Respect Can Be Conveyed:

• Establish a baseline of “owed respect”. Every employee should feel their innate dignity is valued.
• Customize each employee’s “earned respect”. Connect individual contributions to specific achievements, measuring performance against an objective standard.
• Convey respect in your observable work behavior: Do this through active listening, remaining open to advice, and encouraging creativity.
• Recognize ripple effects: The respect shown to employees will cascade down to customers, industry partners, and the community.
• Know that respect is infinite. Respect is not finite; it can be given to one employee without shortchanging others.
• See respect as a time saver, not waster. Respect is best embedded in our normal interactions. Be present for others, listen, and affirm their value.  
• Know when misplaced efforts to display respect can backfire. Don't be inconsistent or insincere —because employees see honesty as a prime component of respect. 

Do you think your employees feel respected, and what might you do to enhance their sense of respect? To join the conversation, click "comments" below.

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