How to Have a Good Relationship with Your Co-workers

No matter how big your salary is or how skilled you are in your work, you cannot truly enjoy your job if you are having a hard time dealing with your colleagues. If other employees are talking at your back or they are making you feel like you are an outcast, then surely you would not want to stay in that office for too long, especially that you could not concentrate on your tasks.

An office, company, or any workplace is a person’s second home—supposedly. It is where you spend most of your time—even more than in your house—and it is where you grow and function as a human being. Therefore, it is necessary that a workplace provides a healthy environment for its workers. Part of that environment should be a harmonious relationship among these employees.

A not-so-good relationship among work colleagues results to a less productive business or company. How can office relationship affect work success?

Well, an organization’s success depends on the performance of its workers. Team work is highly needed since the workflow relies on how each employee manages to easily connect his or her task to others’. Meaning, there should be a proper understanding and adaptability of each part of the work system in order to be organized. If employees have something against each other then faction and crab mentality can arise which can result in a work communication problem.

One more thing, if an employee feels something bad against his or her co-workers then that person cannot work properly. You would not be comfortable with anything you do once someone you have a conflict with is around, right? This is true in the workplace. Once the workers have no good relationship with each other, they cannot focus on their tasks well.

If you have a problem in how you deal with your co-workers or you are just about to start in your new job, here are some tips which can help you build a good relationship with them:


1. Do not be negligent

Surely, if you are always late coming to work or submitting your reports then you could really get negative comments from your co-workers. If you are being negligent while all of them strive for excellence and you all get the same amount of salary, you would really gather haters and backbiters.

Therefore, be sure that you do your work responsibilities well, you come early or on time, and you meet all your deadlines with quality outputs so you would not get critics for yourself.


2. Be excellent

We all want to be a friend of popular and outstanding people right? Do you want to be liked by your co-workers? If you do, then there is one thing you need to be— their role model. If you are not only working responsibly, but also with excellence, for sure it is not only your boss who would notice you but even the rest of the office or company. Your colleagues would be interested in you and they would like to be like you. With this, you will gain respect and friendship from them.


3. Always wear that smile

Have you noticed how those people who always smile win friends easily? Well, this is natural. When we see someone smiling at us, even if we hardly know that person, we tend to smile back and feel light about that person. This is because we think that the person who smiles at us notices and regards us as an existing soul.

A smile can soften an irritable saleslady or cool a parent’s burning temper down. Smiling is really effective in changing a person’s mood and you can try it if you want to. Therefore, if you want your colleagues to accept you warmly, even in rush work hours, then all you need to do is keep on smiling at whoever you meet in the hallway.


4. Be courteous and respectful

When we know that a person respects us, we respect him or her back, right? Therefore, you need to make your colleagues feel that you regard them highly. Being courteous is one of the ways that we can show respect to others. Just by greeting them everytime you meet them is enough to make them feel valued. This will help you gain their respect in return.


5. Be interested in your co-workers

Once someone spares some time to ask how you are or know you better, you become overwhelmed right? Also, you begin to like that person to be your friend because he or she has shown interest in your life.

A human’s greatest weakness is his or herself. Actually, everyone is only concerned about him or herself and does not care about others. Whether you admit it or not, we are all narcissistic and we want all people to be interested in us. That is why, when you find someone who is eager to know about your life you immediately feels good towards that person.

Since you now know this weakness, you should take advantage of it to win the friendship and loyalty of your co-workers. Just by listening to them share their life story, rather than being the one talking about yourself, will make them feel that you care about them. Spending time with each of them can also mean you really value them. This can make you the best friend of everyone.


6. Never argue

One of the usual troubles that challenge the relationship of workers with each other is their authority or position in the group. In times like during planning, when there is brainstorming, employees may share their ideas or propose something. Then, others may not like the idea or want something else. When this happens, sometimes, these employees may have heated discussions or arguments regarding their views. Of course, everybody has a different mindset and if no one would give way, arguments and debates may lead to conflicts.

It is okay to voice out your thoughts or to oppose something which you may think would not do any good for the office. However, to avoid conflicts, you should respect others’ opinions. Just state your point in a gentle manner and never argue to insist what you want or think.

Being able to adjust in your work environment is necessary to help you work well. The best way to do this is to have a good relationship with your co-workers. In this way, you cannot only have a peace of mind and concentration on your work, but this can also help relieve work stress. Finding people whom you can laugh and share your day with during breaks will help lighten your loads up.

 

Photo credit: Hands Holding Jigsaw by Petr Kratochvil