Respect for people and their time

Unemployment is at a 53-year low. Organizations need to retain their best employees because they may not be able to easily replace them.

One need all employees have is to know they are respected. When the respect is not shown, an employee might walk. Disrespect occurs in many ways, but one of the most common forms is wasted time. No one wants to waste time, but some organizations and leaders do it regularly. Here are four ways many organizations disrespect people’s time.

• Meetings - Some companies are great at starting and ending meetings on time, and keeping meetings focused. When meetings consistently start late and end late, or when employees must attend meetings that provide no value, time is wasted and it's disrespectful.

• Interruptions - Some companies have a culture where it’s ok to interrupt folks who are in meetings, on the phone, or have asked to not be disturbed. Yes, sometimes emergencies exist, but routine interruptions are disrespectful.

• Off-hours Communications - Managers who call, email or text during non-working hours and expect a response are not giving others the personal time they need to recharge. Even if a response is not expected, team members may still feel pressured to reply. Again, there can be occasional exceptions, but regular interruptions of personal time are disrespectful.

• Wasteful Work - I was once asked to drive two hours to another location to fix a product quality issue that needed to ship in the last day of the quarter. After rushing there, fixing the issue, and getting back late, I was told it was no longer needed. To say I was mad would be an understatement. No one wants to be asked to do work that serves no apparent purpose. Asking employees to do unnecessary work is disrespectful.

These time-wasters are often part of a company culture. If they are part of your culture, it’s time to change them or risk losing your most valuable employees.

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