Civility and Respect in the Workplace

It has been EIGHT years since I've posted anything on this blog. The name doesn't really make sense any more (it's a long story), but we'll deal with that later. I needed to put some thoughts down on paper and  share them, but LinkedIn only allows 1300 characters in a post. So, hello, and no, this post is not about food. 

This morning, I attended a CLE training about improving workplace civility and respect as a means of preemptively managing sexual harassment and workplace bullying.  The speaker, Fran Sepler, offered a powerful and though-provoking presentation, with a great deal more nuance and detail than I'm sharing. I had a couple big take-aways/reminders (I took six pages of notes!!), ones that weren't really about sexual harassment at all, but about the value and need for civility and respect in the workplace. Hopefully, this will resonate with you, and apologies to Fran for my attempt to (poorly) summarize her information-laden talk.

Did you know: 

1) There is an acknowledged concept of "normative fears" that people carry to work every day, eg: fear of looking ignorant/incompetent, fear of making mistakes, fear of harming the company/boss. Those "basic" fears are compounded when the people in a workplace are rude, hostile, or overtly aggressive. And fearful employees are unproductive/uncreative employees. 

2) Demonstrating cues that communicate respect is a baseline expectation to create a positive culture. You can reduce fear & create psychological safety to change/improve a culture by including simple social cues into your day-to-day, (90% of the time, people just want things like): 

• greetings & acknowledgements
• offering of help
• sincere smiles
• asking of opinions
• praise & professional compliments
• and a general showing of interest in their lives. 

Not so hard, right? Basic courtesy can go a long way to help foster a sense of security with your team.

3) If you are at any level of management, your words and actions are under a magnifying glass. Did you hi to two employees and not a third? The team (and that third employee) will notice and speculation will begin--what did that person do/not do? Are they in trouble?  How you respond to challenges & obstacles are also noted and will set a tone.  

That last point really hit home with me--how often do I go about my day and neglect to say hi to any given team member for one reason or another? While not intentional, my actions/lack of actions can be interpreted in powerful ways.  The idea that how I react to a challenge also struck me--I was reminded of my current favorite quote, one by Viktor Frankel, and one that I've shared with my team: 

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." 

Take the time to think about your culture and your team--ask them these questions, ones that Fran and her team used for much of their research. (Maybe ask them indirectly or autonomously, if it helps people feel better about being honest): Do you feel respected at work? Do you feel your employer values you? Do you feel like your work matters? 

Then ask yourself, what are you doing to foster civility and respect in your workplace? It doesn't take much, and the investment can revolutionize your team.