Employee Respect - How Can You Get It?

Every boss wants the atmosphere in his company to be good and work efficiently. For this to happen, the mutual respect of employees is essential. Its development may be laborious, but it is enough to follow a few rules that may facilitate this task. How to earn the respect of employees? Read on in this article!

How to earn the respect of employees?

What makes us gain the employees' respect? What rules to follow? We present 11 behaviors that can facilitate this task and examples that show how easy it is to lose recognition in the eyes of employees.

Clear expectations for employees

In order to gain the respect of employees, it is worth clearly defining the requirements for them. They want to know what their role is in the company's strategy, how important and necessary they are - this motivates them to work hard.

Example 1.

The supervisor assigned important tasks to several employees. They required a lot of time and work. However, they were not properly motivated to work because they did not know how these duties fit into the company's strategy. Despite many months in this place, the boss still has not shared it with employees. They do not know what to expect and what their place in the company is.

A specific goal

Employees want to know why they perform a given task, what is the purpose of it, what the employer is striving for and what benefits it will bring to the company. If they know why a given project looks the way it does and what is their end point, their commitment to the tasks entrusted to them increases. So they value the boss for conveying to them a clearly defined goal of activity.

Example 2.

The supervisor appointed a few employees for the new project. Although the tasks are time-consuming and difficult, employees do not fully know what the purpose of their duties is. Thus, they do not apply themselves adequately to their work, because it is unspecified and they are lost.

Efficient information flow

Employees do not feel confident and comfortable in a company where they are not informed about anything. It is about both seemingly trivial matters, such as employee integration, and serious ones, such as the condition of the company. When the boss is honest with them, they feel more attached to the company, thus more identifying with it and working as if it were their private enterprise.

Example 3.

Mr. Kowalski came to work on Monday morning and noticed that all employees were talking about the same incident. It turned out that on Saturday there was a corporate event that the boss forgot to inform him about. Mr. Kowalski is disappointed and would most likely leave his workplace where everyone is talking about something he did not participate in.

Example 4.

Salary payments are late. Employees have always had salaries in their accounts on the 8th of the month, meanwhile, the middle of the month is approaching. Nobody knows anything, rumors of bankruptcy are flowing through the company in waves, and the boss has not appeared at the office. Nobody works, there is general chaos and the motivation to perform the tasks is low.

Recognition and constructive criticism

Every employee wants to be praised for doing their job well. This is a strong motivating factor. So if the boss notices this fact and expresses appreciation for the merits and work of the employee, he certainly gains respect in his eyes. The same is true of criticism. The employee usually appreciates particularities, he wants not only to know that he did something wrong - it is not enough - he wants to know the likely causes of failure and the areas on which he has to work.

Example 5.

The employee has been entrusted with an important and difficult project. He coped with it brilliantly and additionally gained new customers. The boss doesn't seem to notice it. The employee believes that his efforts have been in vain and decides not to engage more than average in the tasks.

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Respect of employees versus culture and self-control

A cool boss, who keeps his nerves in check and culturally treats everyone, immediately inspires greater respect among his employees and, at the same time, trust. Employees are not afraid of being scolded, and are not afraid of questions, doubts and conversations. They feel that they can talk to their supervisor about the problem they have encountered and that they will not be poured out in return with a torrent of bitter words.

Example 6.

The employee makes a mistake. He manages to fix it, but the superior does not spare him bitter words. In a raised voice, he says in a room full of workers that whoever makes such a mistake is simply a fool. The employee is depressed, discouraged and reflects on changing jobs.

Punctuality

We very often respect those who respect us. So if the boss always tries to be punctual, shows up at meetings and does not want someone to wait for him, the employees' respect towards him will certainly increase.

Clearly formulate your thoughts

Employees want to receive a clear message. Then they know what the boss expects from them, what they have to do and they are not afraid that after completing the tasks it will turn out that everything is done wrong in the eyes of the boss, who, however, did not specify his thoughts.

Example 7.

The employee Patryk was entrusted with the task, but the boss did not specify the requirements for its performance. After completing the project and handing it over to his boss, Patrick is criticized because he did not follow the guidelines that simply did not exist.

The highest competence

The boss is a person who is expected to have the highest competence in his field and continuous education. It is good for employees to have the right belief that when they cannot cope with something, their boss will most likely be able to help them.

Dependability

Deeds must go hand in hand with words. If we promise our employees something, we must keep our word. When it turns out that something is completely impossible, we should explain in advance why it happened.

Example 8.

Employees were assured that if they managed to win new customers, they would all receive discretionary bonuses. Although the task was fulfilled perfectly, the boss seems to have forgotten about this extra pay. Employees are discouraged and ensure that the next time they will not spend so much time and energy on empty promises.

Equal treatment

Having pets and pets and praising them at every opportunity, even when they obviously don't deserve it, is very frowned upon by other employees. Then they become convinced that they do not have to try, because someone else will win all the laurels anyway. If we care about employee respect, we must treat everyone the same.

Example 9.

Two employees worked on the same project. It was done very well and the employees were praised. Coincidentally, one of them found out that the other employee received a bonus on this account, only because he has been the boss's favorite from the very beginning of his presence in the company.

Not taking any credit for yourself

It can often happen that an employee comes up with an idea that will certainly improve the operation of the entire company, and that we did not come up with before. In such a situation, it is worth praising the creativity of the employee and communicating to the others who is the author of the solution. Crediting someone else's merits will not make employees respect us - quite the contrary.

Example 10.

At a private meeting, employee Robert gave the boss some ideas for improving the company's operations. The boss seems unhappy with the ideas. However, a few days later, he calls a meeting where he presents Robert's ideas, starting his speech with the words: I thought about the company's situation and came up with some ideas to improve our operations. Robert is disappointed and loses the motivation to continue presenting ideas.