Respect in the workplace is at an all-time low.
Organisations spend too much time obsessing over things like hybrid policy and how it influences performance, but there is much more to gain by considering how people are treated, despite what executives might think. According to recent Gallup research, fewer than 40% of employees say they’re treated with respect at work.
All you need to do is turn on the news to see it for yourself. Emotional intelligence is globally at an all-time low, and a recent survey from Edelman shows that there is a dramatic increase in people who fear being discriminated against and hold grievances against organisations, the government and the rich.
There’s a growing tension between employers and employees. And HR needs to put themselves in the middle of it. Employees don’t know what is expected of them and negative emotions toward their work are high. This all suggests that employees don’t feel connected with their organisations’ mission, are not satisfied with their job and in turn become hostile and disrespectful to other employees.
So what does this mean for your organisation, and how can you address a lack of respect? In this blog, we’ll explore why respect matters, how it relates to employee engagement and how to grow respect.
Employees come to work expecting to be treated with respect.
When there’s disrespect circling around a workplace, relationships suffer. Communication breaks down. And more often than not, there’s something deeper going on. Gallup found that 90% of employees who don’t feel respected at work have experienced at least one form of discrimination or harassment in the past year.
Employees are worn out. They’re feeling burned out and confused about the mixed messages. They’re tired of the relentless pace, the vague nods to engagement and the corporate jargon about values that don’t show up in real behaviour.
Respect and employee engagement go hand in hand. When people feel heard, recognised, and supported, they’re more likely to be engaged cause they feel respected in the process. And while working conditions and preferences are causing disruption, the real driver of engagement isn’t where they work, it’s how they feel while they’re working.
Weekly or fortnightly meaningful conversations with a thoughtful manager make all the difference. Employees with great managers are four times more likely to be engaged and thriving, no matter where they work. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how many workshops you run. If you treat people like profit, eventually people will stop believing in you.
So why should you care about respect? Because without it, none of this works. And without HR, no one is carrying the responsibility of upholding the company’s values.
Sure, culture should matter to everyone, but for HR, it’s in the job description. That means making sure the workplace doesn’t harm the people in it and ideally, that it’s a place where they can actually thrive. So, what can you do to grow respect from the top down?
You have to make respect personal.
What feels completely normal to one person might land as disrespectful to someone else. Gallup’s research divides employees into two categories. “Blenders,” who are fine mixing work and personal time, and “splitters,” who prefer a clear boundary between the two.
If an employee who values boundaries keeps getting pinged after hours, it doesn’t take long before they start feeling disrespected. It’s HR’s job to have a sense of how people feel and what camp they fall in, and it’s the manager's job to pay attention to what matters to each employee.
Of course, people are more nuanced than that. But the idea remains, you can’t treat everyone the same. Good leadership means leaning into people’s differences. People aren’t machines.
So it’s important you listen to what everyone has to say. It sounds simple, but giving people time to speak, without cutting them off or rushing to respond is important. When everyone feels heard, it changes the energy in a team. Ideas flow more freely, and people are more likely to contribute. That kind of open space can shift the entire dynamic of a team for the better.
People need to feel safe sharing feedback, concerns or new ideas without fear of judgment or retaliation. This comes from leaders who model it and from teams that make it okay to speak up even when it’s uncomfortable.
Respect is also about how you show up and communicate with your body. Your body language, facial expressions, and even how often you make space for others to speak all send a message. For example, if you're always the first to talk in meetings, consider pausing and asking others for their thoughts first. That small shift can help create space for more inclusive conversations.
Just don’t forget, “human” is half your job title. If your workplace doesn’t leave room for people to be human, what kind of workplace exactly are you building?
Martian Logic helps HR teams rebuild workplace culture where it matters most, in how people treat each other. Our HRIS makes it easy to connect everyday management to real respect, from how feedback is shared to how boundaries are respected. We help you track what employees value so it shows up in every meeting, message, and milestone. Whether you're tackling burnout, rebuilding trust, or trying to create a more human workplace, we’re here to help. Ready to build a company where respect drives performance?