Respectful workplace policies doesn’t guarantee respectful behaviour

from ProActive ReSolutions

Respectful Workplace – Challenging the Status Quo
Are respectful workplace polices doing their job?
The findings of the ProActive ReSolutions workplace questionnaire highlight that having respectful workplace policies doesn’t guarantee respectful behaviour.

Sixty nine percent of some 8,000 employees and managers who responded to the questionnaire said they were aware of their organizations’ respectful workplace policies.

Yet, 58 per cent said their organizations hadn’t prepared them to respond appropriately when they were being treated with disrespect, and 32 per cent said they were aware of two to five past incidents of disrespectful behaviour.

“These findings highlight the need to do more than just create respectful workplace policy manuals,” said Joe Moore, Managing Director of ProActive ReSolutions.

To ensure policy is transformed into action, Moore said workplaces should integrate respectful workplace behaviour into organizational values, performance reviews and training.

People at work unprepared
Over half of the employees and managers who participated in the ProActive ReSolutions questionnaire said their organizations had not prepared them to respond to disrespectful behaviour.

- 55 per cent said their organizations had not prepared them to respond appropriately to behaviour that made them feel uncomfortable.

- 58 per cent said their organizations had not prepared them to respond appropriately when they were being treated with disrespect.

- 64 per cent said their organizations had not prepared them to respond appropriately when they were fearful of being ridiculed or belittled.

Policies violated
Significant proportions of managers and employees who participated in the ProActive ReSolutions questionnaire said they were aware of past incidents that violated respectful workplace policies.

- 11 per cent said they were aware of one incident of policy violation.

- 32 per cent said they were aware of two to five incidents of policy violation.

- 26 per cent said they were aware of more than five incidents of policy violation.

- Only 31 per cent said they were unaware of incidents of policy violation.

What is a respectful workplace?
Respect is a lot more than the old adage, “respect is earned not given”. Respect at work is feeling safe and secure about:

- Diversity and accessibility – the workplace welcomes people similar to you and different from you.

- Acceptance – the workplace values you for what you bring, and not what you are.

- Accommodation – the workplace takes reasonable steps to recognize your individual needs and help you do your job well.

- Clear expectations – there are clear expectations as to how we treat each other in the workplace.

- Effective communication – we communicate in a healthy and effective manner in the workplace.

- Effective conflict transformation and dispute resolution – the workplace makes available a variety of processes for changing relationships, behaviours, attitudes and organizational structures for the better and resolving disagreements.

- Active improvement – everyone plays a role in continually trying to improve the workplace.

Top six things to do to build respect
1. Redistribute your workplace behaviour and conduct policies often and talk about them often and in lots of different ways: for example, via the intranet, team meetings and in performance reviews.

2. Make workplace behaviour and conduct competencies part of your hiring and performance reviews for all employees.

3. Make your relationship management competencies part of your hiring and performance reviews for all managers.

4. Train your people in how to solve their day-to-day disagreements informally – that should take care of the 98 per cent of the issues that come up and which should never get to the formal grievance stage.

5. Train your people in the formal processes for addressing issues that cannot be solved informally.

6. Include in your policies a requirement to behave respectfully and collaboratively and in ways consistent with your organization’s values.

To socialize your Respectful Workplace policies, call ProActive ReSolutions at one of the numbers listed below or visit: www.proactive-resolutions.com.

The Proactive ReSolutions workplace questionnaire results are based on responses from some 8,000 (of the 11,138) people working in mostly the government sector in Australia and Canada, who participated in ProActive ReSolutions respectful workplace training from June 2007 to June 2009. Before each training session, participants were asked a series of questions about their organizations’ respectful workplace polices. Not all questions were answered by all participants.

Tweet

---

Are You A Target of Workplace Bullying?

Download: What Every Target of Workplace Bullying Needs to Know.
Learn how To avoid the traps, stop bullies in their tracks and get your life back!

More Information