So first comes the reaction, then the response. If we hear a sudden noise, it might cause us to make a quick, nervous movement. And that is a reaction.
After that initial reaction, we may realise it was something innocent, such as a door slamming or a window banging in the wind. And then we respond – for example, with a sigh. Or a curse.
And then we just carry on with what we were doing before. This explanation appears on the management-issues.com website.
Don't react rashly
So reacting means what we do when we are not mindfully responding to a stimulus of some kind. How dangerous that can be at work, we can imagine. In order to achieve a good outcome, we shouldn’t merely react; a little reflection is also necessary.
For example, your reactions to bad news can create an environment in which your colleagues will prefer not to inform you proactively about possible troubles or shortcomings. And that would apply even in situations when you would want to have that information so as to prevent greater and more serious trouble in the future.
To react or to respond?
If someone asks you to reattach a file to an email (even if they could easily find it for themselves on the company intranet) and you mechanically fulfil that request, you may encourage that person to send you similar requests in the future.
Of course it all depends on the situation but sometimes it may be advisable to respond rather than react to similar requests. Remind the person (in a polite way, of course) that it is no problem for them to find the relevant document themselves. You definitely don’t need to be distracted from your work in the future by such demands.
-jk-