Familiarity breeds Contempt

At the workplace, just like at any other place where people interact, one needs to employ respect in each dealing with people they come across.

But, alas, such wariness wanes as people get used to one another. In the long run, such familiarity produces the insipid fruit of contempt. Disrespect, though subtle at first, wends its way into the workplace fabric. Within no time, the “innocence” of the workplace is jolted off course.

The dynamics of the “familiarity-breeds-contempt” principle can be well examined at the family level. When a man courts a woman (or vice versa!), he is very respectful, loving and kind. One look at him would lead one to think that he cannot even swat a fly from his own face. Why? He seems to be so humble and kind that he’d never stand the death of a fly (a death occasioned by himself!).

Once the man (or woman) is under their arms, things start to change. The love, care and respect they once had for each other gradually ebbs. The man and woman regard each other just like they would any Tom, Dick and Harry.

They don’t see any special attributes in their mates. Some even go to the extent of doubting whether they made the right decisions about their mates. They say to themselves: “Surely, what did I see in this man (or woman) in the first place? There is nothing special in him!”

In the long run, this lack of regard shows in their treatment of each other. Their talk, love and care become a distant shadow of how they were formerly.

This is the very same thing that is happening in many offices. Work output becomes hard to maximize because of such states of affair.

My suggestions to help prevent the familiarity bug from wrecking havoc at our workplaces :

1. We ought to check the priority ladder in our relationships. This means that we should not go deeper than we ought to.

2. One’s boss or superior at the workplace is not a person one should be familiar with. Familiarity with people higher up the ladder tends to make their work a tad difficult.

3. We should respect our colleagues at work for who they are rather than “measure” the value of someone against the backdrop of their work output. We should always realize that people are human beings first and workplace colleagues second.

Do you guys out there have other suggestions to help efface the “familiarity” vice?