Do you know if your employees feel valued? If you’re like many company leaders, the work day is busy enough, without stopping to think about how you’re perceived your team. However, your employees are the backbone of your organization, so it’s important to ensure you always treat them with respect.

The Harvard Business Review surveyed more than 19,000 people last year to find out if they felt respected in the workplace. A shocking 54 percent of respondents said they didn’t feel that company leadership appreciated them. When employees don’t feel respected by their managers, it can be detrimental to the entire organization.

Reasons to Treat Employees with Respect

There’s never an excuse to treat employees badly. These people could work anywhere, but they choose to dedicate themselves to your company. You expect to be treated well by them, but respect is a two-way street. When you are kind to your employees, they repay your generosity by doing great work.

The HBR survey revealed the following about the workers who felt they were treated with respect by their employers:

• 56 percent better health and well-being was reported by respondents.
• 89 percent of employees enjoyed their work and reported high levels of job satisfaction.
• 92 percent of these workers cited a greater focus and prioritization.
• Employees also noted feeling a greater meaning and significance and a higher level of trust and safety.

Overall, companies who treat their employees well have higher retention rates than those who don’t respect their workers. Additionally, the study found that those who are treated well are 55 percent more engaged, producing higher quality work for their companies.

Why Do Managers Behave Badly?

Unfortunately, many managers don’t treat their employees with much respect ─ if any. Christine Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, asked a group of 125 employees to explain why they tended to exhibit rude behaviors. The results reveled the following:

• More than 60 percent said they didn’t have time to be nice.
• 25 percent claimed other leaders at their company behaved in a similar manner.
• 4 percent actually admitted they behave badly because it’s fun and they can get away with it.

Porath concluded that the main reason leaders behave in a disrespectful manner is because they are unaware of the impact their actions have on others. Sometimes they may not even mean to be rude, but inadvertently come off in a manner that offends employees.

Feeling like there’s not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on your task list? Contact ECS. Since 2000, we’ve been helping clients and recruiters manage their Information Technology, Accounting & Finance, Clerical & Administration and some Engineering & Architecture contract staffing engagements.