Even if we are children, we want to be treated as adults when the benefit of being an adult is perceived to be superior to being a child.
Condescension in the workplace is merely a soft expression of contempt. Contempt is extremely unproductive as it creates a near immediate grudge in those on the receiving end. The perpetrator moves on in ignorance of the damage to any future relationship.
Condescension is rarely found in absence of arrogance, blinding the perpetrator even further. You might ask how this type of person even holds a job with the authority to exercise such attitudes. Yet we see it all the time and all levels.
Recently I noted a comment in an email that evidenced condescension. It was from one of the company's lawyers to the marketing teams. (If you have ever worked with marketers you know what makes them "childlike" is their desire to push the boundaries...) Legal is there to hold the line on the boundaries... continually... because marketers consider "no" a very temporal "in that moment" response. Like peppering their parents, perhaps asking again at a different time in a slightly different way will produce the desired result.
When I read the email I did not take offense (I only put on the marketer hat some of the time and I am only a recovering rule follower). I did wonder, however, at the source of the lawyers contempt since it was a subtle slip in professionalism.
Will anyone in marketing call this lawyer out on his condescension? Not likely. Because in the balance of power the average marketer will have something else for this same guy to review next week that he needs to press up against the boundaries.
What is to be done then? It is impossible to honor others properly if you have no self-respect or humility. Being able to honor someone else requires at least an attempt to put yourself in their shoes.
In past when I struggled to show respect where I genuinely felt none, I had to pray earnestly for this one thing in particular: that The Lord would help me see these people as He sees them. (Which, by the way, is much more mercifully than I would ever be capable of on my own.)
Empathy is a powerful force. And fortunately, is very hard to fake. To avoid being condescending, or to avoid being offended by it when it blows your way, be sure to wear your empathy glasses. People might not recognize you in them, but you'll see them in His light.
Condescension in the workplace is merely a soft expression of contempt. Contempt is extremely unproductive as it creates a near immediate grudge in those on the receiving end. The perpetrator moves on in ignorance of the damage to any future relationship.
Condescension is rarely found in absence of arrogance, blinding the perpetrator even further. You might ask how this type of person even holds a job with the authority to exercise such attitudes. Yet we see it all the time and all levels.
Recently I noted a comment in an email that evidenced condescension. It was from one of the company's lawyers to the marketing teams. (If you have ever worked with marketers you know what makes them "childlike" is their desire to push the boundaries...) Legal is there to hold the line on the boundaries... continually... because marketers consider "no" a very temporal "in that moment" response. Like peppering their parents, perhaps asking again at a different time in a slightly different way will produce the desired result.
When I read the email I did not take offense (I only put on the marketer hat some of the time and I am only a recovering rule follower). I did wonder, however, at the source of the lawyers contempt since it was a subtle slip in professionalism.
Will anyone in marketing call this lawyer out on his condescension? Not likely. Because in the balance of power the average marketer will have something else for this same guy to review next week that he needs to press up against the boundaries.
What is to be done then? It is impossible to honor others properly if you have no self-respect or humility. Being able to honor someone else requires at least an attempt to put yourself in their shoes.
In past when I struggled to show respect where I genuinely felt none, I had to pray earnestly for this one thing in particular: that The Lord would help me see these people as He sees them. (Which, by the way, is much more mercifully than I would ever be capable of on my own.)
Empathy is a powerful force. And fortunately, is very hard to fake. To avoid being condescending, or to avoid being offended by it when it blows your way, be sure to wear your empathy glasses. People might not recognize you in them, but you'll see them in His light.
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