Whether you work for a small company or a large one, whether you are in management or an entry-level position, gaining the respect of your coworkers is a smart career move. Respect and likeability go hand-in-hand. Build a strong foundation for your career path by including respect and integrity in your personal branding.
These tips will help you gain more respect at work:
- Take responsibility for your actions. No matter what happens, take responsibility for your actions – both good and bad. It’s okay to let others know about your successes while being mindful of the distinction between self-promotion and bragging. But it’s also just as important to acknowledge when you might have acted wrongly.
- If you feel that your actions resulted in negative consequences for someone, apologize and ask if you can help repair the situation.
- Avoid taking things out on coworkers. One of the traits of well-respected people is the ability to control emotions and attitudes. As you go through your workday, there will be situations that annoy and frustrate you. Make sure you don’t vent your frustrations on others.
- Treating people fairly reflects well on you. If you have a problem with a coworker, address the problem in a private area or office. Avoid humiliating a coworker in front of others.
- Remain calm. The truth is you’ll get bad news from time to time at work. When you receive bad news, first think about the way you should respond so you can react appropriately.
- Take a moment to cool down by going for a walk, getting some coffee, or even just sitting in your car for a few minutes. Once the news has sunk in, then take the steps needed to get the matter resolved.
- Give quality information. Resist the urge to participate in office gossip. There’s a lot to be said for an office environment that has an open door policy, but that same policy can also facilitate distractions that sow the seeds of disharmony.
- Don’t relay gossip. Only pass on information if you know the information is reliable, truthful and necessary for someone else to know about.
- Remember, if a person was standing in front of you and you wouldn’t say something directly to them, then don’t say it behind their back.
- Give credit where credit is due. When other people have done a good job, make sure to tell them so. Take the time to speak well of them to others. In addition to making people feel good about themselves, you’ll soon realize that speaking highly of others will also work wonders for bringing respect to you, too!
- Giving credit to your coworkers is honest, fair and it gains you respect. This quality is one of the attributes shared by great leaders.
At the end of the day, the most important way to gain respect in the workplace is to respect those you work with. Treat everyone with courtesy. Don’t talk down to anyone or act condescending towards their thoughts or opinions. It all comes back to the golden rule: If you treat others the way you would like to be treated, then they will treat you the same way.
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