How To Treat Others With Dignity And Respect

You may spend a good part of your week interacting with colleagues. Here are some tips you can use to inform your behavior choices as you strive to treat others with respect.

1. Recognize the fundamental dignity of every human being.
2. Have compassion for each individuals life situation.
3. Listen to and encourage each others opinions and input.
4. Please verify other peoples contributions.
5. Abide by your employers policies and procedures.

 Recognize the fundamental dignity of every human being: 

• The concept of human dignity states that human beings should be inherently valuable and irrespective of any status or circumstances. If you see other people with these global values, it can help influence your attitude to be positive from the beginning.

 Have compassion for each individuals life situation: 

• Acknowledging dignity is the first step to having compassion for others. Empathy is your ability to understand others by being able to imagine yourself in the others situation. It enables you to feel their joy or sorrow and sincerely celebrate or offer help and support. Your colleagues may share many details of their personal lives, or they may prefer to keep them more private. However, even if you dont know the details of their home, family, and core values, you can still empathize and treat them as if you understand their struggles and successes.

 Listen to and encourage each others opinions and input: 

• In work situations such as evaluation meetings at the beginning of a project or mid-project, people are more likely to feel respected if other team members listen to their opinions and acknowledge their values. Offices are made up of people with all kinds of personalities, and some are less likely to express their opinions in a large group setting. Others may dominate a meeting with a wealth of ideas, and its worth acknowledging that all kinds of approaches have value.
• Sometimes it helps to have people explain how they like to work so you dont have to guess. If a colleague is often silent in meetings while everyone else is talking, you can give that person the opportunity to give their input later in a private conversation or via email. Without asking first, you may dismiss them as uninterested when they may be shy or quiet in a group setting. Respect gives people the opportunity to contribute in the way they feel most comfortable.

 Validate other peoples contributions: 

• Validation shows people that their feelings are understandable. Much of what people contribute to their work is motivated by their professional experiences and their opinions about how things should be done that have developed over the course of their careers. Validation in person or in writing helps people feel that their philosophy and methods are valued and contribute to the success of the project. Specific praise and recognition usually have more power than something vague. "Good job at the meeting today!" Instead of sending an email saying! You might consider stopping by someone office and saying something like, “The outline you presented at our meeting today helped me see some aspects of the project more clearly. You are so talented in helping us all become more organized. Thank you for that contribution.”
• In these examples, you are validating someone time at work and you are pointing out a talent, both of which can make someone feel important and useful.

 Comply with your employers policies and procedures: 

• A commitment to being an honest and ethical person who follows rules and policies with integrity shows that you respect the organization as a whole. It sets a good example for those who work with you. You demonstrate that respect by maintaining confidentiality agreements, working productively during paid hours, following a dress code, using company resources such as keys, vehicles, computers and credit cards only for work-related activities, and strictly observing any safety and legal requirements.
• Many of these behaviors keep other employees safe and secure in their jobs, and you can avoid putting others in a compromising position. You can encourage feedback about company policies, and when you have shown yourself to be trustworthy and respectful, you may be able to provide input that helps define company culture.

Thank You.