R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means To Me
Respect is a funny old thing.
The FA think you can just tell people to respect other people and that’ll be that. What they mean is ‘don’t swear at the ref’, but that’s just too wordy, so they decided to employ a single word to make sure the kids could cope.
‘With respect’ is, ironically, the phrase that is used by someone who is just about to be really, really disrespectful: “With respect, Sandra, I think manning a call centre telephone might be beyond you.”
But respect is also one of those things that can make you very happy. I find that working for someone you respect makes the work feel one tenth as annoying as working for someone you don’t.
When people you respect ask you to do something, doing that thing doesn’t feel like as much of an imposition. In fact it can feel downright pleasant to do it.
And respecting someone’s opinion leaves you less concerned about whether or not that opinion is right or not. It gives you the confidence to follow a path in the belief that it’s right.
And that can make a big difference to your overall satisfaction.
Work for people you respect. It makes the day go by.