RESPECT - It’s Give and Take in the Workplace!

Respect in the workplace is key to any successful operation, but is particularly crucial in pharmacy and allied health positions. Anytime you deal with the health and well being of others, a stress level emerges and is ever present, lurking in the back of your head like a phantom. If I make a mistake, who will suffer? If I become distracted, will I still be able to stay on track with what I was doing? In a normal job, these questions would be bothersome but not potentially dangerous. Not so in the pharmacy or allied health fields. A mistake in a prescription could be lethal, a mistake in how a therapist manipulates a leg, an arm or a spine could result in a large setback of the patients’ recovery. The results of a nurse delivering the wrong meds to a patient could be devastating. So, it’s particularly imperative no additional stress be present and that mutual respect is code in these workplaces. There is a great article from Ezine Articles called 5 Things You Can Do to Advocate Mutual Respect in the Workplace or at Home. The article brings out some valid points. The very word “mutual” in the title indicates a back and forth dance of not stepping on someone else’s mental toes. The article suggests using the five tips of Time, Patience, Listening, Laughing and Honesty. Using these five items should be used as the foundation to having and maintaining respect in the workplace. Take the time to get to know a person, you may see things from their point of view. Be patient, don’t just go through the motions, be sincere in your feelings. Even if you don’t agree, listen to what your employer, employee or colleague is saying and ask questions - you may change your perspective. In some cases, laughter truly is the best medicine. Find a common bond to talk and laugh about with a co-worker you are having a hard time getting along with. Lastly, you have to honest in your approach and work at it daily.

Because everyone views respect in a different way, it’s not always easy to find the right rhythm that is tune with your co-workers. Unfortunately, like family, you can’t always pick your co-workers, but when it comes to respect in the workplace, a little goes a very long way. Deborah Norville’s new book *The Power of Respect, brings some pertinent issues regarding workplace respect to the surface, “Employers who don’t show respect risk losing their best workers….Showing respect can make family members feel closer to us…employees and colleagues work harder for us…” It’s true, the more valued an employee feels, the harder they will work and the stronger the bond between company and employee becomes. In a pharmacy or allied health workplace, where long hours and hard work are the norm, specific words of encouragement from a superior about something that an employee excels at, a pat on the back or offer to lend a hand from a colleague lightens the load and makes for a much happier atmosphere for employers, employees and their patients.

To read the entire article Ezine Articles, “5 Things You Can Do to Advocate Mutual Respect in the Workplace or at Home.

*The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success, Deborah Norville, Thomas Nelson Press


Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin