We have heard this around us plenty of time that it is crucial to develop healthy relations at your workplace with office colleagues, co-workers, and everyone that is involved in the making of our career. Also, we know that being on good terms with co-workers surely pays off sooner or later in various terms beyond imagination.
But how do we do it? Almost every one of us has certain deal breakers which refrain from making friends with certain people. But what when these people are made your co-workers and you need to survive 6-9 working hours with them? Lets’ find out how.
1. Be realistic:
The fits step is to be practical and realistic. If you are a team leader, show some leadership skills with the team. It is simply madness to set sky-high goals for your team which cannot be met unless your co-workers spend half their day in office. The same goes with working on holidays, taking leaves, and running late occasionally. Don’t crib about these small issues.
At the end of the day, what matters is the productivity your team is bringing forth. Until that requirement is being met, appreciate it and allow some flexibility. Even if your colleagues are at the same level as you, don’t look down upon them for silly things like these. This will go a long way in helping you healthy relations at your workplace.
2. Develop empathy:
Somebody has moved cities to come and work in this place. Someone must feed a family of 5. Someone needs to travel a long distance each day to get here while another is struggling to fit the bill. The least you can do is show them empathy. Now, this is especially for people who feel entitled to every privilege and go around picking only fancy people as friends. This does little to no help in managing the office environment.
You need to look beyond that and develop a sense of rapport with as many people as you can, but only on a professional level. This habit will give you an upper edge for bringing about healthy relations at your workplace and may even come to your career aid in mysterious ways.
3. Polish your communication skills:
Be it verbal or non-verbal, healthy communication is the key. Brownie points if you conduct sessions of motivational interaction with employees. You must be able to convey rightfully what’s on your mind without leaving any room for misunderstanding. Learn how to send out professional emails and remember to include everyone all the way up, even if they are not required to see it.
It is a good habit to let your bosses get a peek into how much progress you are making each day. This habit of creating healthy relations at your workplace by good communication will cause you to rank up higher with your superiors sooner than you’d expect.
4. Constructive criticism:
When your co-worker asks for your honest opinion, do give them one. Cut the slack and tell them exactly what they need to do to make their performance better. If you happen to be a level above them, they will look up to you for valuable feedback.
And you ought to give it to them. Even if you are at the same professional level as the, tell them honestly what you think they must work more on, but in the least arrogant and authoritative way possible. If time and space permits, conduct sessions of motivational interaction with employees to bring out their best version better.
5. Avoid blindsiding:
If your group partner or team member learns about a change in the project or any such crucial information in a meeting and you already knew about it, you have blindsided them. This will do no good if you are keen on managing the office environment well.
It is sheer bad manners to not include a particular team member in group discussions, no matter how small or insignificant their role may be, especially if you are the team leader. Being a team leader calls for showing leadership skills with the team, so don’t lack on that front in terms of blindsiding.
6. Honesty is the key:
The most common behaviour in offices is the blame-game. And such conditions arise especially when people work in the group and a slack is reported. Here, being honest goes a long way in giving initiative to healthy relations at your workplace and building a good rapport with a partner for the long term.
You need to be careful and alert in the first place itself. But if you screw it up, don’t hesitate to own your mistake instead of slyly dumping it upon a meeker colleague. The same goes for giving due credit to others for the work that they do.
7. Play on the safe side:
Last but not least, learn to play it safe. For example, never lie in writing, no matter how small it may be. Also, when a co-worker asks you to do something beyond your limits and you oblige, take it in writing lest you want the tables turned on you. Never give opinions, suggestions, and advice unless asked for.
Keep your personal and professional life distinct, even if it is with a co-worker whom you have personal records with. These little things will go a long way in maintaining your reputation and develop healthy relations at your workplace.
Conclusion:
True that your workplace isn’t meant for developing personal relations and friendships. Kudos to you, if you make that happen successfully! However, we spend around 6-9 hours at the workplace, which is almost 30-40% of the entire day.
This is the place you need to have the maximum peace and contentment, if you are intending to grow professionally. Your workplace gives you the flexibility to make mistakes, learn new things, and polish your communications skills, to say the least.
But all of this cannot and will not happen unless you healthy relations at your workplace with your co-workers and everyone that is part of it. Doing so will ensure your peace of mind, grow your network, and push you up the ladder in ways you could never even contemplate!
