Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Communicating Respect

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | August 2nd, 2021

Recently published research (LaGree, Houston, Duffy, and Shin, in press), is getting lots of attention.  The LaGree-led team reported that, when surveyed, young US employees (aged 21 – 34) shared that employers should communicate to them in ways that indicate they are respected. More specifically, LaGree and colleagues (in press) share that they learned that there are “positive benefits of respectful communication on employees’ wellbeing and, ultimately, positive long-term business benefits.” A press release from the University of Missouri related to study outcomes (https://showme.missouri.edu/2021/study-young-workers-now-value-respect-over-fun-perks-in-the-workplace/) is a little more straightforward: “today’s young workers—age 21-34—represent a life-stage shift toward placing more value on having respectful communication in the workplace over trendy work perks.”  In the press release, the following quote is attributed to LaGree: “As we see here with our research, actively recognizing employees for the value that they bring to their organization will help them to bounce back after adversity, to …