How are you ending 2025?
How are your workplace relationships this December? Are you craving some time off away from work pressures and work colleagues?
I have heard people saying ‘they are limping to the end of the work year’, I imagine this describes the feeling of being drained and craving a break. Once fatigue sets in, even small conversations can feel exhausting and/or negative, making it hard to stay engaged and positive. This exhaustion can cloud our perceptions of even the most well intended interaction, leading to misunderstandings and a sense that every exchange feels heavy or unwelcome.
Therefore, taking a minute to check our perceptions (especially now) is worthwhile, BUT after you check yourself remember to trust yourself. Are you saying (and perhaps hearing) defence statements like these to excuse disrespect and incivility from others: “She didn’t mean it”, “He doesn’t mean any harm”, “It’s just how she is”, or “No-one else minds”? These statements might be true, or may help us rationalise a behaviour, but it's important to keep in mind: impact matters more than intent. How a person’s actions affect others (yes I mean you) is what counts.
Incivility refers to rude or discourteous behaviour that shows a lack of respect for others. It can include actions such as interrupting, ignoring, or dismissing colleagues.
Incivility usually comes from ignorance not malice, but this does not excuse instances of bad behaviour.
Dealing with incivility and disrespect at work is challenging and can leave us feeling exhausted, demoralised, and stressed - no wonder we crave a few weeks break to re-coop. Incivility and disrespect occupy our thoughts (often more than we want), because consciously evaluating negative interactions tends to take precedence over our usual work tasks. We become preoccupied and this then reduces our ability to focus and perform. No matter how much we may want to shut this down, these challenges cannot simply be turned off.
Repairing damaged workplace relationships is hard work, calling out bad behaviour is hard work, it’s not surprising that we want to believe the saying ‘time heals all wounds’ (I hope this works for you). But just in case January 2026 might not be an automatic re-set for your workplace relationships here are nine tips (with links to previous 2025 respectful insights/blogs) that you might find useful to practice through this December/January period. Use these to help transform workplace conflicts into opportunities for growth and mutual respect.
Recognise that you don’t have to agree with a colleague to move forward. Respecting each other’s perspectives may be enough to find common ground and work cooperatively
Try just listening and observing
Communicate with honesty and integrity (10 tips for respectful communication — Respect at Work)
Focus on what you have in common: namely the desire we all have to simply be seen and heard, and to go to work and home again safely each day (Can I respect someone I don’t like? — Respect at Work
Know your boundaries and values and communicate how you want to/deserve to be treated (Self-respect — Respect at Work)
Step back to self-reflect, use tactical withdrawal when necessary
Practice personal resilience (Resilience (yes again) — Respect at Work)
Ask for help when you need it, ensure you have a couple of ‘go-to’ names and numbers just in case - and then use them
Call out bad behaviour and support others (Be an upstander — Respect at Work)
I wish everyone a positive and respectful end of year. I hope your December is positive and respectful and whether you have time off or not, and regardless of how your work relationships are tracking; I hope you take the time for some self-care and are supported to be your best self.
How is your current workplace culture? The way a workplace feels - safe or tense, supportive or draining - matters deeply to everyone and affects moods, productivity and performance. Could your workplace culture benefit from a re-set in 2026? Respect at Work training can help, contact us for a chat.