What is disrespect at work ? Does it happen in businesses? What are the consequences of disrespectful behaviour?
Respect, collaboration, politeness, good manners and courtesy are some rules of conduct which ensure well-being within organizations. However, in the reality of their professional lives, workers don’t have good interactions with their colleagues. In fact, two-thirds of the survey’s respondents argue that gossip is very much alive in their workplace, whether against a person or the company. Of them women are particularly sensitive, with three out of four of them having a complaint. In addition to these nuisances, one third of those surveyed noted a lack of collaboration between colleagues, even they have the skills and time to support someone who needs help. While managers have a primary role to play in these situations, more than half of respondents find that they intervene only occasionally, rarely or never.
Preventing and remedying disrespect at work
A real source of stress, disrespectful behaviour generates an unpleasant professional atmosphere, can affect worker’s mental health, result in a loss of productivity and lead to dismissal.
To prevent or remedy disrespectful situations, the Ordre suggests putting in place an explicit code of conduct in organizations. The Order has also designed, in collaboration with various partners, a training kit which aims to equip managers so that they are able to better understand and better resolve conflicts that could arise within their companies. This kit presents awareness-raising methods and effective intervention strategies, thus promoting the development and implementation of violence prevention measures in organizations. It is also aimed at workers to whom it provides basic advice, whether they are witnesses, victims or aggressors.