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Introduction

The modern day work place culture is filled with abuse. There are so many stories where
the employees are abused and are not given the due respect for the jobs they have been doing.
This has been a serious concern when the employees have been treated in the wrong manner. It is
a human right to be treated with respect and given the rights to function in the workplace. The
respect would include addressing the person in the right manner, giving them the resources to
succeed in their jobs etc. This paper would talk about the respect at workplace and would also
identify some strategies which can be used by employers to ensure that there is an atmosphere is
respect and coordination among the employees in an organization. (Minkoff, 2014).
Background
Abuse at workplace has been common all around the world. there has been increased
focus on the results rather than dealing with the employees respectfully. Employees are subject
to disrespectful behavior from supervisors and bosses due to the fact that they are not able to
meet the objectives which have been set aside by the company. The workforce are at severe risk
due to the abuse and lack of respect shown towards their work(Samnani & Singh, 2012). This
can result in serious psychological problems for the employees. The employees would struggle to
lead a normal life. There have been some extreme cases of employees committing suicide due to
disrespectful behavior by bosses at workplace
A company can also suffer drastically due to such disrespectful behavior as the employee
performance would suffer the most. Furthermore, a legal complication can also arise if the
employee sues the company. There would be some serious damage in the brand equity of the
company too. there is a strong need for a company to ensure its organizational culture promotes
respect and eradicates abusive behavior. Thus, it is in the best interests of a company to ensure
that disrespectful behavior is eradicated from the organization. (Ram-Tiktin, 2018)

Research Objective
The focus of this investigation has been to identify ways an organization can ensure
disrespectful behavior can be identified and eradicated. This would also identify ways an
organization can develop a culture where the employees would work in cohesive manner where
the focus would be on helping each other rather than finding faults and creating an abusive
workplace.
Research Findings
An organization needs to ensure that the employees must believe that disrespectful
behavior would not be tolerated. This would also mean that the management of the employee
must make a pledge to ensure that there is a support system where the employees can report
disrespectful behavior and ensure that they can take action based on the reports. This might mean
the organization can have separate helpline or dedicate this duty to an Human Resource
department who would take into the complains of the employees. In this way the employees
would have the courage and means to report the disrespectful behavior which would help them
stand up against this sort of actions from their supervisors. The duty of the organization must
also ensure that this help mechanism is fair and is effective in its work. If this mechanism is not
working in the best interests there can be further problems which can hamper the overall
objective of stemming out disrespect in the organization.
An organization is always built on the values and philosophies of the leader. There is a
strong sense of the leaders viewpoints in the way the organization culture is developed. Thus, if
an organization is focusing on ensuring highest standards of respects and no abusive behavior the
focus must start from the top of the organization. The management of the company must lead by
example by showing the utmost respect to employees. If this practice is followed only then the
lower employees would also follow suit. There is a strong need to ensure that the top
management must practice what they aim to reach. This would help to set a strong precedent
which would then be followed by all the employees(Ram-Tiktin, 2018).
Respect is yet another challenging aspect which has to be identified. The culture and the
diversity at workplace can also be one of the key reasons why some employees might feel
disrespected while the other person had no intention of disrespecting the employee. Consider the
case of the Chinese and the American culture. A Chinese or Japanese would struggle to ask
questions about the plans or decisions which have been made the supervisor. They would accept
it due to the fact that they belong to a culture where the power distance is extremely high. They
accept the fact that there is unequal distribution of power. An American might go ahead and
question the decisions made by the leader. The rising globalization means that the workforce is
consisting of many different nationalities. A particular gesture might seem to be normal for one
group of employees might seem as offensive for another group of employees. This can give
another important aspect for the organization to ensure that they can develop a code of practice
and identify the things which would be considered as disrespectful. They can also develop a code
of conduct which can help the employees understand the different cultures prevailing within the
organization. The organization can help to have a standard behavior guideline which can help to
ensure that all the employees can be properly aware and no disrespect is shared among
them(Kaplan et al., 2010).
An organization must set examples to ensure that future abusive or disrespectful behavior
can be targeted and eradicated. This might mean that an audit must be conducted and any
employee who is engaged in such a behavior must be given an official warning. If the warning
goes unheeded he/she must be terminated. This action must be taken to ensure that there is a
clear understanding about the severity of disrespect. The termination should not take into account
the amount of success or business the employee has brought to the organization. The short term
profits should not be the basis of the decision making but the behavior must be the top most
priority. There is always a myth that performance can cover the abusive behavior. There is a
strong need for the organization to stand up to it and ensure that the employees are saved from
such disrespect(Ram-Tiktin, 2018).
Conclusion
Abusive and disrespectful behavior can harm the employees and the organization in the long run.
There is a strong effect on the mentality of the employee which can affect the performance of the
worker. The fall in performance would directly mean that the organizational effectiveness would
reduce. Furthermore, litigation and other lawsuits can also be potential life changes for a
company too. there is a strong need for an organization both morally and from the business point
of view to ensure that abusive and disrespectful behavior is eradicated from the company. There
are various methods which can be taken by the company to ensure that the employees behavior
can be regulated. One of the first steps include ensuring that the management practices which it
preaches. Secondly a code of behavior can also be an ideal way to ensure that the employees are
aware about the acceptable and not acceptable behavior. An organization can also take the
extreme measures of terminating the employees who have been continuing to be abusive despite
the warnings. These sort of measures would help to setup a strong statement of intent from the
organization and help to develop a strong image in the long run. (Rogers & Ashforth, 2014)
References

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“Me.” Journal of Management, 43(5), 1578–1608.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314557159

Kaplan, K., Mestel, P., & Feldman, D. L. (2010). Creating a Culture of Mutual Respect. AORN

Journal, 91(4), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2009.09.031

Ram-Tiktin, E. (2018). Universal principles of justice and respect for cultural and religious

diversity in the capability approach. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 5, 35–46.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2018.03.011

Minkoff, H. (2014). Teaching ethics: when respect for autonomy and cultural sensitivity collide.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 210(4), 298–301.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2013.10.876

Samnani, A.-K., & Singh, P. (2012). 20 Years of workplace bullying research: A review of the

antecedents and consequences of bullying in the workplace. Aggression and Violent

Behavior, 17(6), 581–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.08.004

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