Amongst Emtrain clients, there’s a growing fan club for the Workplace Color Spectrum®. In one of my first meetings with a learning and development leader, I asked if he was familiar with it. Without hesitation, he held up our infographic—printed and laminated. (You’re awesome, Matt!) Stories like these highlight how this tool is being embraced across workplaces. From CEOs to VPs to associates, employees are using it to call out disrespectful or offensive behavior in real time.
As we look ahead to 2025, teaching respect in the workplace has become more important than ever. But the question remains: what’s the best way to do it? Traditional approaches to respect training have dominated workplaces for decades, yet many fall short of driving real behavioral change. Now, a new trend is emerging—one that focuses on practical, real-time tools like the Workplace Color Spectrum®.
Let’s explore how respect has traditionally been taught, why these methods often fail, and how forward-thinking organizations are shifting to more effective strategies.
How to Teach Respect in the Workplace
Teaching respect in the workplace has long been a challenge for organizations. While the goal is clear—create a culture of accountability and positivity—the methods for achieving it have varied widely. Here are some of the most common approaches and their effectiveness:
1. Mandatory Training Sessions
Traditional respect training often takes the form of mandatory sessions for employees. These sessions typically focus on:
- Company policies on harassment and discrimination.
- Role-playing exercises to identify respectful vs. disrespectful behaviors.
- Lectures on legal compliance and workplace conduct.
Why It May Work:
These sessions can provide employees with a baseline understanding of workplace expectations and legal requirements. They’re especially helpful for introducing new hires to company culture.
Why It Falls Short:
- The content often feels impersonal and generic.
- Employees may view it as a “check-the-box” activity, leading to disengagement.
- The focus is on avoiding legal liability, not building positive behaviors.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Workshops
Respect training workshops are another common approach. These often include group discussions, case studies, and facilitated activities designed to promote empathy and understanding.
Why It May Work:
Workshops create a space for open dialogue and can help employees reflect on their own biases or behaviors.
Why It Falls Short:
- They rely on a limited timeframe, making it hard to address ongoing issues.
- Group dynamics can discourage honest participation.
- There’s no follow-up mechanism to reinforce learning.
3. Policy-Driven Approaches
Some organizations rely on distributing policies or handbooks outlining respectful behavior expectations.
Why It May Work:
Policies provide clear guidelines and set the tone for workplace conduct.
Why It Falls Short:
- Policies alone don’t change behavior; they require enforcement.
- They lack the human element needed to connect with employees.
Why Traditional Methods Aren’t Enough
While traditional methods can introduce the concept of respect, they often fail to create lasting behavioral change. They’re reactive, focusing on what employees shouldn’t do, rather than proactively encouraging positive interactions. Employees leave training sessions with little understanding of how to apply respect in their daily interactions or how to address problematic behaviors effectively.
This is where modern tools like the Workplace Color Spectrum® step in, offering a fresh, innovative approach that’s better suited to the challenges of 2025.
A New Trend for Teaching Respect: The Workplace Color Spectrum®
Instead of relying on lengthy sessions or abstract policies, the Workplace Color Spectrum® provides a simple, actionable framework that empowers employees to give real-time feedback. It categorizes behaviors into four clear groups—Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red—making it easy to identify, discuss, and address behaviors constructively.
The Workplace Color Spectrum® is a behavior rating scale that enables employees to provide instant feedback in a non-confrontational way. Behaviors are rated on a color scale:
- Green: Respectful, Positive, Productive
- Yellow: Frustrating, Irritating, Demotivating
- Orange: Disrespectful, Alienating, Demoralizing and referencing protected characteristics
- Red: Toxic, Destructive, Unlawful
We teach the Workplace Color Spectrum® in every Emtrain Preventing Workplace Harassment course, and learners use it to rate the behaviors they see in several workplace video scenes (these are situational judgment tests) in our online training.
How to Use It:
The Workplace Color Spectrum® is a great communication tool for your workplace, too. Once employees are familiar with it, they can apply it to any comment, joke, or conversation that might be inappropriate. For a quick intervention, co-workers simply say the name of the color—alerting their co-workers that their words or actions are offensive or disrespectful and that they must stop. Calling out the color helps employees have an immediate response and stop the behavior before it gets worse.
If a co-worker sees or does something that makes them uncomfortable, they now have a choice. Instead of saying nothing (which happens far too often)—or saying, “Hey, that’s offensive” (which feels loaded and emotional)—you can say, “Hey, that’s Orange!”
For some lines of work, especially those in retail, healthcare, and hospitality, social, racial, and political strife takes on a broader societal lens in the workplace. Employees and customers are emboldened to say and do things they may not have before. So organizations are looking for concrete ways to promote respectful behavior in the workplace and create a behavioral norm of respect.
See how your workplace addresses respect in the workplace, take the Workplace Culture Quiz using the Workplace Color Spectrum®
The Role of Microlessons in Reinforcing Respect in the Workplace
Teaching respect doesn’t end with a one-time session or introducing a tool. Emtrain clients who want to implement the Workplace Color Spectrum® as a top-down corporate initiative find that a behavior-based norm of positive and respectful behavior—backed by a library of microlessons—is the most effective way to sustain cultural change.
The Workplace Color Spectrum® kit includes:
- A sample policy for respectful behavior, including using the Workplace Color Spectrum® (WCS).
- The Workplace Color Spectrum® Decision Tree infographic poster to visually reinforce the behavior framework.
- A sample email to provide background on the WCS to executives and managers.
- A series of 5-minute microlessons that train employees on using the WCS to provide instant feedback to their co-workers to stop problematic words and actions:
- About the Workplace Color Spectrum®: Introduces the Workplace Color Spectrum as a tool–for shared language and behavior rating–that helps diverse organizations create a highly respectful workplace.
- Creating More Respectful Interactions: Models how managers can intervene when they observe suboptimal “yellow” behavior between co-workers. When managers are proactive, it helps create greater respect in the workplace.
- Managing Our Frustrations: Models two co-workers de-escalating their own tense “yellow” conversation, with tips on how to de-escalate your own behavior in addition to your co-worker’s.
- Blindspots and Inappropriate Behavior: Models a co-worker stopping offensive “orange” comments in a conversation between co-workers, showing how to give feedback, and how to receive it.
- A suggested deployment order and calendar to help organizations roll out the framework effectively.
- Insights reporting on employee sentiment to track progress and outcomes.
A Better Way Forward for Teaching Respect in 2025
As we move into 2025, it’s clear that traditional methods of teaching respect in the workplace aren’t enough to meet the challenges of today’s dynamic work environments. Employees need practical, actionable tools that help them navigate real-world interactions and create a culture of respect and accountability.
The Workplace Color Spectrum® represents a simple yet powerful solution to this challenge. Combined with microlessons and ongoing reinforcement, it equips organizations to foster a culture of collaboration, trust, and respect that drives both employee satisfaction and business success. By adopting modern tools and leaving outdated methods behind, organizations can ensure they’re ready to thrive in 2025 and beyond.
Learn more about how the Workplace Color Spectrum® works and get a personalized demo of our platform by contacting us!
