Respect Your Colleagues
A quick message today.
Let’s just say I have work to do and a massive assignment due in for my OU course.
Or rather I have a humongous reference section for my OU course that needs my attention (don’t you just love references?)
This is not a snarky post.
Nor a self-righteous one.
It’s just one that has been nestling in my brain for a while and now is as good a time as any to post it.
When you work as a professional, whether that be in the publishing industry, the service industry or any other industry, you should respect your colleagues, your service providers and your customers.
Period.
Here respect doesn’t mean admiring your peers or their achievements (although it’s always nice to have someone to respect in this way), it simply means having due regard for their feelings, their rights, and their standing as a professional.
That means treat them as you would expect to be treated.
It’s not that hard.
Respect means:
- Not making jokes, or flippant or negative remarks at the expense of others.
- Not calling them out in public for misspelled words in social media posts.
- Not being snarky in private either.
- Not demeaning their abilities or working practices.
- Not using social media to put down other professionals.
- Being mindful of how your actions and words affect others.
- Understanding that we are all different and work in different ways.
- Showing compassion and understanding.
- Accepting that we are all different, with different backgrounds and experiences.
In a nutshell respect means treating colleagues, clients and other professionals in a way that you would wish to be treated.
Treat someone well and they’ll happily work with you, for you or buy from you. Relationships can be built and formed that can last a lifetime. Even respectful short term transactions can mean a lot.
Treating someone with disdain, casual flippancy or feeling you are better than them is disrespectful, rude and wrong.
It’s not old-fashioned, weak or pathetic to treat someone with respect.
And in business it makes good sense to be respectful. Sometimes you don’t really know just who you are dealing with.
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5 Comments on “Respect Your Colleagues”
Why Copy Editors Matter
Brilliant post, Sara. It’s the oldest rule in the book but still worth reminding people about. All the best with your OU course, too.
Thanks Rachel. I thought I’d finished but there’s a bibliography. Urgh! (at least I know how to format a bibliography and references though 🙂 )
I don’t even want to imagine what situation(s) would inspire such a post, but I’m glad you wrote it — and I hope it somehow reaches (and speaks to) the people who most need to see it. xx
Thanks Heide 😊 It’s basically something that’s been languishing in my ‘to publish’ pile for a while, but is quite apt for today. It probably won’t reach the people who most need to see it, as they rarely understand that they *are* being disrespectful.
Well said, Sarah-Jayne. In a perfect world, we’d all think before we speak and never regret anything we say. But thinking or saying things is one thing; actually typing and posting/emailing vitriole for all to read is something else – it’s much more harmful to both the target of the abuse, and the abuser (take note, Roseanne). We all get narky from time to time with stressful deadlines, bulshy or difficult clients and so on. But venting publicly is unprofessional and, as you say, disrespectful. Count to 10, punch a cushion, go for a walk, vent to your dog, cat or partner (privately, of course). Get it out of your system – and resist taking fingers to keyboard!