Respect

If there is one word we need in the workplace, and elsewhere for that matter, it is respect. Not only for those above you but everyone else we work with or is working for us. Respect has the ability to get the most out of each one of us.

What does respect mean? It means I accept someone, everyone, for who they are. It is easy to criticize someone, but not so easy to accept that someone else can also be right. So, I respect someone for their abilities, qualities, and their achievements and acknowledge them for what they can do. I regard the rights of others.

We want people or colleagues to trust and respect us because it lets us feel safe and secure. Likewise, others want to feel that about us. That is something we must work on every day as we are all in a learning class as we deal with other people.

When we walk in a courtroom, we keep quiet; when we enter a church or cathedral, we are quiet, because we have respect for the environment. When we sing our anthem, we stand in salute, respecting the flag and the land it stands for. We honor our ancestors and what they believed.

When I receive an assignment, I will do it to the best of my abilities, out of respect for my work and myself and for those I must do it. That is because I respect my work and everything that goes with it.

Qualities of Respect

Qualities of respect can be:

• Reliability: We need to rely on one another. It is important to be able to trust each other as we work together. We earn trust, and that develops from reliability.
• Humility: Humility is something very rare. People are just not humble enough anymore. There is a difference between humiliation and being humble. A humble person can conquer the world without boasting about it. He or she can get along with other workers without problems because they get along with each one.
• Neatness: A person that is neat in themselves will also be neat in the workplace. It saves time and labor.

Other qualities can also be consideration, organization, accountability, integrity, expertise, and dedication.

These are all qualities that we need in the workplace. To take people into consideration is vital in relationships. To organize means to work in good order and be accountable in what we do. We need more integrity. Here is a quote that says it all:

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.”

Something that is lacking today is expertise. People are not always qualified for what they do. They are not experts in their field. And because of that, they lack dedication. A person with integrity and expertise is also dedicated to the task at hand. These qualities will change our mindset and ability to bring in the profits and pride of what we do.