Ask any employee how they want to be treated in the workplace and the first thing that tops their list is the desire to be treated with dignity and respect.  Respect is admiration and a deep regard for an individual, for the skills, qualities, and capabilities that they bring to the table.

Cultivating a culture of respect and treating it as a very important value has many benefits for the company.  Employees feel valued and their morale is boosted.  Treating them with dignity creates an ambience of being respectful towards other employees and customers too.   

Here are ways to treat the workforce with dignity and respect.

Praise hard work

Praise your employees when they generate good work and do well.  Point out what worked in their favour, so that your praise sounds sincere and genuine and the employee knows that you have been following their progress.  Paying attention shows that you care and that you are involved.  This enhances the self-image of the employee, leading to a motivation to do better and increase the bar of performance.  

Avoid negative criticism

During stressful times, it is easy to get into a negative mode.  Do not demean or put down employees when they make mistakes, especially in front of their peers or senior colleagues, or anybody for that matter.  This kind of disrespectful behaviour does not achieve anything and only damages the morale of the employee.  As an alternative, you could offer constructive criticism and inculcate positivity into the situation, by finding solutions on how to avoid the mistakes that the employee has made.  

Encourage Development

Help your workforce to grow and learn from their mistakes each time, every time.  Offering advanced training, one-on-one mentoring and subsidized education will go a long way in helping employees learn new skills and gain experience.  As employee performances improve, so will their self-respect.  Making their careers a priority shows that you care for their growth and needs.

Inclusion

Make inclusion a way of life in the culture of the office.  This means that every employee’s voice needs to be heard, irrespective of their rank and hierarchy in the office and no employee’s ideas are small, bizarre or silly, especially during meetings, when brainstorming sessions usually happen.

It is not enough to reward top performers only, each time.  No team member should feel excluded.  You could probably give away team-based rewards for group efforts.  Everyone on the team should feel respected.

Encourage Feedback

Encourage feedback from each and every member of the team.  This could generate fresh ideas and solutions.  It would also make employees feel valued and show that you respect their viewpoints as well.  For example, if you need ideas on how to increase productivity, ask your employees for inputs.  Perhaps they might come up with ideas such as a new reward system that will help employees to increase the amount of work that they get done or do away with outdated or malfunctioning office systems, which might make the workplace more efficient.  Listen to what the employees have to say and use their feedback for improvements.

With respect at work, a solid foundation of collaborative productivity is ensured.