There’s an age old wisdom that says you can gauge someone’s character by the way they treat a waiter or waitress in a restaurant. The same philosophy applies equally well when looking at the way we treat others in the workplace – particularly those internal service providers occasionally referred to as the ‘little people.’

Many of us will often spend great energies trying to impress or gain the positive attention from the more powerful people in an organization. But when the little guy needs help – the part-time employee, the janitor, the clerk, the junior team member – we’re suddenly nowhere to be found.

There’s a few good reasons why ‘being there for the little people’ is a good thing:

1. It’s just the right thing to do.

2. What goes around usually does actually come around, and you never know when you’re going to need one of the little guys in a big way.