The importance of tolerance in any setting can't be downplayed, as it brings about a sense of belonging, respect, acceptance, and much more. Despite the aura of individual differences in an organization, the presence of tolerance usually brings about collaboration and teamwork, and that's due to the fact that everyone in such a workstation can air their opinions without being afraid of oversight or judgment. But aside from all of that, does the present tolerance yield productivity?
This is a kind of tricky question to answer because, in my opinion, this can work in both positive and negative ways. For instance, while tolerance brings about respect, confidence, acceptance, and collaboration among coworkers, which is good, the other side of this is that while each individual in such a setting agrees to do things just to please the other, that's more or less like going against their personal beliefs, accepting diversity without actually believing in what they are doing, but only doing them to promote peace, which in my opinion would be a short life.
Tolerance usually boosts staff satisfaction and morale, which is great and brings about delivering the best results because such an atmosphere would boost employee motivation and engagement, and the outcome of such an atmosphere is great for such an organization. As we all know, people tend to give their all to a place where they're respected and appreciated, and such a place fosters a positive work environment for employees to deliver their duties in the most innovative and creative way possible.
While that sounds cool and more like an avenue for an organization to thrive and have a great work environment, in reality that isn't so, because although everything said above is true and could help a lot, the downside is what If the other individual who's been tolerated usually does the opposite of what brings about progress to the organization, continuous tolerance of such a person, could be bad in the sense that others could feel like if Mr. A can do such and get away with it because we promote tolerance in our organization, then i guess there's nothing bad in me, Mr. B, doing the same.
In their minds, they'll be like, "After all, I'll also be tolerated just like Mr. A," and before you know it, every individual in such an organization would start misbehaving, which would in the end crush the productivity we're trying to brood by promoting tolerance. So does that mean we shouldn't give room for tolerance in our organization?
That's actually not where I'm driving towards with my point; instead, we should be able to decipher when to tolerate and when to voice out about the downsides that such diversity being projected by one of the staff could bring about to the organization.
In a nutshell, I think the word inclusiveness best fits what we're trying to encourage in order to bring about productivity, rather than tolerance. Why did I say that? Well, the reason isn't far-fetched. While tolerance brings about accepting and respecting others opinions, inclusiveness gives everyone in the team the opportunity to participate in carrying out projects, voicing opinions, and sharing ideals and advice.
And with that in place, it brings a sense of belonging and fulfillment to every member of the team, rather than a few individuals who are tolerated to take the lead. I've witnessed and had to deal with this kind of issue during my days as an auditor in one of the biggest factories in Kano State, Nigeria, and while I would have loved to share my experience, I think I've gone past the maximum word count for this prompt. So with that being said, I'll be dropping my pen here, and if you've got any questions and would love to hear about my experience there, I'll be in the comment section to give you a hint.
That's about it for now. I hope you have a good read and understand my opinion on this subject matter. Whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, I'll love to hear your side of the story in the comment section.
Do have a wonderful day and stay blessed.
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