A New Column: Does That Request Show Respect?

As of October 1, 2026, companies in Japan are required to take measures to address customer harassment.

Businesses are expected to establish clear policies, provide channels for employees to seek support, and respond appropriately when incidents occur.

When we hear the term “customer harassment,” we tend to think of negative behaviors—verbal abuse, unreasonable demands, and other forms of mistreatment.

But this change in the law prompted me to think about what lies on the other side of the issue.

Respect.

Respect is one of PM Global’s Core Values.

For us, Respect means more than simply admiring or looking up to someone.

We all differ in our roles, experience, values, and perspectives. Respect means recognizing those differences and valuing one another despite them.

Over the years, I have worked on many projects, and one client in particular still stands out in my memory.

This person always paid close attention to the motivation of the project team. And that consideration extended not only to the company’s own employees, but also to outside consultants like us. We were treated as members of the same team.

Of course, the expectations were high. There were difficult moments.

We were the client and the consultants. Our roles and responsibilities were different.

And yet, when you feel that you are being respected as a professional, something changes.

You find yourself thinking:

“I can go a little further.” “I want to do whatever I can to make this project succeed.”

When you genuinely want to live up to someone’s expectations, you are willing to make that extra effort.

To me, that experience captures something essential about Respect.

At work, we often find ourselves on different sides of a relationship: client and vendor, buyer and supplier, manager and team member. Different roles naturally come with different priorities and perspectives.

What matters is not eliminating those differences. It is being able to respect one another even when those differences remain.

We do not always have to agree.

Sometimes we need to make tough demands.

But even then, we can continue to move toward the same goal while respecting one another and acknowledging our different positions and perspectives.

Instead of seeing someone simply as “the person who needs to deliver what I asked for,” we can see them as “someone I am working with to accomplish something together.”

That, I believe, is where genuine collaboration begins.

Now that companies are required by law to address customer harassment, this is a good time to think not only about what we should not do, but also about what comes next.

“Am I truly respecting people who see things differently from me?”

And can we build relationships in which both sides feel:

“I want to see this through with this person.”

At PM Global, I believe that creating relationships like these is an important first step toward our goal of creating greater collaboration.