Thursday, May 1, 2025

The Danger of Labelling Others? It Erodes Trust

By taking into account the whole person and not labelling them because of their opinion or way of doing things, we can come to a better understanding of them

Blogs National

By Dennis Oenema, Representative

Within society, and for some who are a part of different faith communities, we are presently living in a bit of a different time zone, a time of polarization, and labelling people.

Throughout history, people have always labelled (judged) others, but not to the degree that we have seen over the last few years. This has led to a severe erosion of trust, communication, and dialogue and increased social-relational fragmentation—even within families.

I remember the ’60s and ’70s (yes, that dates me) when we often had very long, at times heated, conversations about all kinds of subjects. This was a time of enormous social and societal upheaval. Yet despite our disagreements, we were open to hearing other people’s opinions.

Being open to hearing from those we disagreed with often helped us to change our perspectives. It sharpened our understanding or strengthened our point of view. But we hardly ever labelled people with whom we disagreed, and certainly not to the degree that we do now.

To offset today’s troubling trend of labelling people, consciously or unconsciously, I have been trying to do something over the last years: allow people to speak and give their opinion without me jumping in. I allow them to speak without giving my perspective or, worse, telling them they are wrong.

I try to understand the real issues about why they are thinking the way they are. What are some of the underlying, secondary issues and reasons for their views?

One thing I have learned when counselling people is to create safety by asking clarifying questions, building relational capacity and trust, and leaving judgment at the door.

At times, our thoughts and opinions need to take a back seat to safeguard the relationships we have with people. We need to respect people and respect their humanity.

It is not worth winning a discussion or argument only to lose the relationship. It is better to listen and ask questions, which often will lead people to change their minds or understanding, without somebody telling them they are wrong, stupid, and should know better.

We also need to acknowledge that there is often a time stamp on our thoughts, opinions, and understanding. We all have blind spots, and at times our thoughts are emotionally overcharged and can change overnight.

How does this apply to the work we do? It can help us to be more open-minded when dealing with a coworker who has a different way of looking at or doing things.

By taking into account the whole person and not labelling them because of their opinion or way of doing things, we can come to a better understanding of them. In this way, we can gradually build a relationship of trust. And when we trust and respect each other, we can accomplish so much more together to solve workplace concerns.

The Danger of Labelling Others? It Erodes Trust

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