Display forbearance at work

Today, all workplaces have men and women from diverse backgrounds; religious denominations, racial characteristics, age groups and opinions are some major features of this diversity. If an organization has to progress, it goes without saying that all differences that spring from them should not be allowed to come in between efficient functioning as a team.

You need to respect others and their differences. In other words, you need to display forbearance. You have to be patient and tolerant. You must give to others every right and privilege that you think you merit. The essence of the matter is that you have to liberate yourself of fixations and prejudice; and have an open mind in your dealings with others, particularly those who are from a different background. It is only if you accept the differences that you and your team will move forward.

No person is born blinkered and biased. Haven’t you seen kids playing at school? Do they harbor any feelings of prejudice? As you grow up, you learn to accept differences and dissimilarities all over the place; however, there are some people who feel intimidated by them. That is why they fail to adjust with those who hail from a different background, gender, race, creed or religion. Differences and diversities notwithstanding, human sentiments and experiences ought to serve as bonding factors; and let common attributes predominate. It is in this context that forbearance is significant; in fact, if are disposed towards attachment, the prospects of great breaks go up.

Forbearance buoys up candid interaction, stimulates ingenuity, endorses inventiveness, nurtures mutual confidence and boosts camaraderie. In short, it brings about a congenial working environment where collaboration, constancy and efficiency are hallmarks. Forbearance can manifest itself in many ways, notable being a display of respect towards other faiths and religions; and understanding of working styles and sensitivities of others. In unpretentious terms, you have to exhibit and prove that you appreciate others, exhibit compassion towards them, are responsive to their feelings and display reverence to them as individuals. There are many methods by which you can inspire forbearance in your team:

·  Appreciation:  Your colleagues may not go with your views and actions, resulting in a sort of rasping. This can be overcome by egging on others to exhibit polite concern in the convictions and conduct of others; motivating them to be patient listeners will help. The aim is to boost responsiveness and facilitate a sense of appreciation, which can best be done if everybody, for a moment, wears the other person’s hat before reacting.

·  Exchanges: Your words have an immense telling effect. They can serve to liberate and incarcerate you alike. Your speech has aftermath and therefore, you need to ponder over what you utter first before opening your mouth. Your colleagues could be urged to be considerate towards others – implying that all their spoken and written words ought to be communications indicating tolerance, respect and empathy.

·  Exemplification: Exercising forbearance is easier said than done; it is effortless to teach it but observing it is difficult. You ought to demonstrate it personally. Whatever you speak or do wields weight over others; and hence it is essential that you exhibit patience, gentleness and concern in all your individual dealings. You will find that others may be careworn with forbearance; it is your moral duty to apprise them that any form of chauvinism or prejudice is not okay. Any unacceptable conduct at work should be tackled with promptitude.

· Comprehension: When you work in a multicultural environment, there will be differences and finding a middle ground will be difficult. Impediments to teamwork will have to be disabled. You need to comprehend the predilection, disposition and beliefs of others as well as they are expected to do so of you to be able to adjust to one another so that teamwork and cooperation is brought about.

·   Boundaries: While forbearance implies recognition of different opinions, it does not in any way mean disdain, unresponsiveness, unconcern or lenience. Any conduct that defies decency and morals or is inclined to damage others cannot be condoned. You need to set boundaries; any action that is detrimental to the organizational or individual interests should be contested, but with due diligence.

Forbearance is valuable in all settings, but most importantly when functions require interaction with clients, customers, suppliers, colleagues or coworkers from broadly diverse demographic backgrounds. At workplace, it is the best religion and a life-altering lesson.