Respect for the individual

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." What this old adage is saying is that we must respect the individual. There is so little respect shown both in the business work place as well as in our personal lives. You may disagree. You may have a wonderful environment in which to work. Be very thankful for this.
Many employers regard their employees the same as they regard a product that may be used, abused or discarded at will. On the other hand, some employers have embraced their employees and made them partners in the growth of the company.

Please do not get me wrong. The employer should expect the employee to function to the best of their ability and fulfill established, well defined, and obtainable goals. The employer, under these circumstances, may very well expect success from the employee or termination would be in order. The key is the circumstances. However, employers, who would discriminate against an employee, for various reasons, can easily place an employee in untenable or impossible situations in which the employee will fail to fulfill expectations.

Therefore, resolve to be honest and forthright. If you have an employee that you do not like, then trying to have an honest conversation with them concerning those things that you dislike is far more honest and rewarding. You never know what may come of such honesty. If this does not help, then try to move them to another place in the organization.

In our personal lives, a lack of respect for the individual is played out in our dating games, our parenting, our marriages, and our friendships. It is treating the other person as though they are less significant that yourself. We lie, cheat, deceive and harass others as though we are the important ones and the other person is our property or beneath us. Any time we are behaving deceptively or cruelly we are acting with disrespect and disregard for the other person. What separates us from the animals is our power to choose our behavior.

Resolve to be honest in your personal life. The way to maintain this is to have honest talks about wants, needs and desires with your spouse. Have discussions concerning your fears and your needs. Discuss those things that you want to pursue. Then together you can seek the same objectives.