Last Updated on February 7, 2023
A good workplace relationship is paramount for career growth and success. Building relationships at work increases productivity and overall job satisfaction. By understanding your emotional intelligence and taking certain steps to get to know your colleagues, you can build lasting, professional relationships.
This article discusses the benefits of building relationships at work and tips you can use to build good workplace relationships.
What are Workplace Relationships?
Simply put, Workplace relationships are interactions with co-workers. Honestly, Building effective relationships with other professionals and team members make everyday life more enjoyable. Building relationships at work is also essential to your success at work. Relationships with colleagues at work not only help you network but also provide the guidance and encouragement you need to succeed in your role. A working relationship has the following benefits:
- Increased career satisfaction
- Increased comfort during presentations and team meetings
- Increased productivity for all team members
- Moral support and support for meeting tight timelines
- Improved retention rate
To foster good workplace relationships, there are some elements needed. They are;-
Trust
Feeling that you can trust and rely on your colleagues is important in building relationships at work.
Acceptance
Accepting and understanding each other and our roles in relationships at work is an important factor.
Team Membership
People who work well in team environments, divide work fairly and give credit when the time comes are more likely to build stronger relationships.
Open Communication
Open communication is essential in any relationship, including the workplace. One of the first steps towards working relationships is encouraging open communication, asking questions, and getting to know your colleagues.
These elements help foster a good workplace relationship
Tips to build good workplace relationships
1. Know your strengths and weaknesses
Before you focus on building new relationships at work, it’s helpful to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Developing interpersonal skills such as communication, active listening, and conflict resolution can help build relationships in the workplace. Assess the positive things you bring to your new working relationship and consider what the relationship needs. Assessing your emotional intelligence (EI) can help you in this task. To understand your emotional intelligence, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Your self-awareness:
Self-awareness is the ability to know your own needs and desires in your career and relationships.
- Your Self-control:
Self-regulation is the ability to regulate your emotions and thoughts while keeping your long-term goals in mind.
- Your empathy:
Empathy is the ability to understand and empathize with another person’s situation.
- Your Social skills:
Developing important social skills such as teamwork, conflict resolution, communication, and problem-solving skills are essential when building new relationships.
2. Make time to build relationships
Building good workplace relationships takes time. Daily job expectations and obligations can make it difficult to find time to connect with other team members. If you set aside time to build relationships, it will be easier for you to interact with your colleagues and get to know them. You can schedule a time for her at lunch, the first ten minutes of her work day, or when she leaves the office at the end of the day. You can even schedule the first 10 minutes of your meeting to get everyone talking. Additionally, many employers organize after-work trips and team events that are great for building relationships at work.
3. Ask and listen
Asking questions and actively listening helps you learn more about your colleagues and is an important part of building relationships. If you’re asking about a colleague’s personal life, professional goals, or day-to-day needs, we’re interested. Give them a chance to share details about their lives before you share yours. By asking questions and encouraging open communication, your peers will associate you with a great communicator. They are more likely to come to you when they have a concern, a celebration, or just want someone to listen to them.
4. Offer to help
Releasing a colleague struggling to complete a project is a great way to build relationships. If you find a colleague overwhelmed and you have a few minutes to spare, consider helping them out. Trust is a key factor in building relationships and demonstrating the quality of trust by helping colleagues when they need it most.
5. Know when to ask for help
Seeking support can also initiate a relationship at work. Asking your colleagues to participate in projects and work assignments will give you more opportunities to get to know them. And if you have provided the same help to others before, you will get the help you need more likely. Every relationship involves giving and receiving. You can demonstrate this by asking for and offering help.
6. Respect the role of each employee
Gratitude builds strong relationships. Sometimes it seems difficult to understand the challenges of other departments, and frustration can lead to negative emotions. Considering that different departments have different goals, you can assess each employee’s role within the organization. It helps to find solutions to problems instead of jumping to conclusions and assigning blame. By working together productively and professionally, you can develop a newfound appreciation for your employees and start building positive relationships.
7. Keep Your Promises
Another element that builds on trust is honoring commitments. Colleagues and team members are more likely to build stronger relationships when they know they can count on you. If your busy work schedule makes it difficult to keep an appointment, let your co-workers know that they need to let you know when they ask you to attend. Always be realistic when agreeing on work commitments and plans.
8. Stay at work
The workday’s many tasks and demands often make the day go by. Multitasking all day, answering emails during a team meeting, or working on a report over lunch can make you feel more productive. However, these tasks prevent me from attending. By paying attention to those around you, starting to communicate, and getting to know your peers, you will find that you can build relationships at work with minimal effort.
9. Try to avoid office politics and gossip
Every workplace has this. Sharing a gossip (or two) may seem harmless at first, but it can encourage retirement. If you’ve been in the office for more than a few months, chances are you’ve come across some office gossip.
We also encourage you to keep your thoughts to yourself, your friends outside of work, or your close friends at the office. Also, choose very carefully with who you share your time. Getting distracted by the wrong person can lead to unwanted workplace drama. It creates an atmosphere of distrust and that does not foster a good workplace relationship.
10. Show appreciation
Always recognize people for exemplary work and positive contributions in the office. The memo can be handwritten or emailed. Colleagues love to be thanked and will always remember your kind words. So how do you maintain a good relationship with your co-workers? It’s a small gesture because it goes a long way.
11. Stay positive
We all like to be with positive people. Being positive is contagious. Generates energy that strengthens relationships with peers. A positive attitude is more than just smiling and being cheerful in the presence of others.
A positive attitude also improves your reputation in the office. People are naturally attracted to positive people, so your co-workers will feel more relaxed and happy around you.
12. Stay In Touch
Your first communication should not be your only communication. Relationships do not develop on their own. It takes time to nurture and build relationships that ultimately create some comfort. Always helpful instead of overwhelming.
13. Show up at a meeting
A good workplace relationship is built on respect. There is no better way to earn the respect of your peers than by proving yourself to be a dedicated and valued member of the team. And there’s no better place to prove you’re here than at a conference. Be prepared, speak your mind, stand by the opinions of others, and participate actively.
It may be different if you’re working remotely, but make sure your camera is on and that you’re interacting regularly with the presenter in your team’s meetings. This allows your team to put a face on your name, making it easier to keep track of who is who on your team
Conclusion
If you are a natural introvert or a little socially awkward, you are not alone. Don’t be worried about all these tips. Our advice is just to push yourself to set realistic goals, they could be weekly goals or daily goals, whatever works for you. Then be sure to complete them at the end of the week, small leaps make giant improvements.
Implement these tips and watch how you’ll foster a good workplace relationship with your colleagues. You got this!
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