Respectful Workplace Climate Scale FAQs
This Respect Works FAQ introduces the Respectful Workplace Climate Scale, a scientifically validated tool developed by Dr. Emily Huang at Oregon Health & Science University to measure employee perceptions around discrimination, DEI, fairness, bullying, and civility. It can assess an entire organization or specific jobsites, benchmark progress over time, and validate respectful-workplace efforts. Implementation is a two-month process starting with a consultation step to identify participants and relevant demographic data (age, gender, race, location, supervisor, trade).
What is the Respectful Workplace Climate Scale?
The Respectful Workplace Climate Scale is a scientifically validated and predictive tool that measures employees’ perceptions of company policies, procedures, and practices as they relate to building a respectful workplace. Developed and validated by Dr. Emily Huang at the Safety Climate Laboratory at Oregon Health & Science University, the scale draws on over 40 years of research. It addresses key dimensions such as discrimination; diversity, equity, and inclusion; organizational justice and fairness; bullying and harassment; and workplace civility. The scale is rigorously validated and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
What is the purpose of this tool?
The Respectful Workplace Climate Scale is a versatile assessment tool that can be implemented at either the company-wide level or for specific jobsites. It is designed to:
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Evaluate the status of the respectful workplace culture of your entire organization or a specific jobsite and recommend areas for improvement.
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Serve as a benchmark for industry comparisons and track progress over time at both the jobsite and organizational levels.
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Validate the effectiveness of your efforts to build a respectful workplace.
What is the process for implementing the scale?
The Respect Works team will work with you over a span of two months to implement the scale through the following steps:
Step one: consultation The Respect Works team will assist you in identifying participants for the scale—from jobsites to the entire organization, depending on your needs, and determine which demographic information to collect, such as age, gender, race, location, supervisor, and trade.
Step two: implementation step three: analysis step four: workshop and final report Employees complete a 20-minute survey designed to measure perceptions of respect across three distinct levels: company, supervisor, and co-worker. The survey can be tailored to evaluate general company culture or expanded to include jobsite-specific items. The survey is designed for completion online via computer, tablet, or mobile device.
Step three: The Respect Works team analyzes the data to identify connections between your respectful workplace climate and outcomes for safety, health, and well-being.
Step four: The Respect Works team provides a summary of the results and offer recommendations to improve practices. This workshop can be provided virtually or in-person for companies located near Portland, Oregon.
What is the potential impact of building a respectful workplace?
Research shows that a respectful workplace contributes to improved physical health outcomes, better mental well-being, lower turnover rates, and higher levels of job performance. For more information and fee details, please contact rwi@ohsu.edu
