8 Tips on Building Positive Workplace Relationships

8 Tips on Building Positive Workplace Relationships

Human beings are social creatures. We crave to belong and to connect with other people, just like we crave for food whenever we’re starting to get hungry. We tae you through building positive workplace relationships.

The ability to build and shape genuine relationships is one of the most important traits that employees should possess.

If we pay attention to Maslow’s pyramid of needs, we’ll notice that interpersonal relationships are the third basic need that we’re ought to meet in order to continue growing as individuals.

First, we need food and shelter. Second, we have a need for certainty, or a need to feel safe. Third, we have a strong need to bond with other people and to feel that we belong. That can be a relationship, friendship, community, and so on.

As an employee, you can meet the third need even if your romantic or personal life is not as satisfying as you may want it to be. Being part of a professional community allows you to create a feeling of safety and belonging by knowing that you’re a part of a community.

Since we spend half of our lives at work, why not make the best out of this time?

The benefits of positive workplace relationships

Positive workplace relationships aren’t just increasing your job satisfaction, but they’re also a fine productivity booster. On the other hand, mediocre workplace relationships can only decrease your motivation levels while lowering the performance across your team.

When we develop truly positive relationships with our colleagues, our work often becomes play. If that’s not the case, work becomes at least more enjoyable.

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When your relationships at work are good, you won’t have to encounter resistance every time you want to bring something new to the table – ideas, suggestions, and feedback.

Great relationships also offer us a higher degree of freedom. Rather than spending our precious resources (time, attention, and energy) on solving the issues associated with bad relationships, we can focus them on fructifying opportunities.

Lastly, we need to develop positive relationships with our professional peers in order to make progress professionally because any manager position requires communication and relationship-building traits.

The characteristics of a positive work relationships

A positive workplace relationship is characterised by several factors:

Mutual respect

You get what you give. To develop a healthy relationship, you must value the ideas and input of your peers. If you do, you’ll receive the same thing in return.

Effective teamwork is only possible when all the members of the team respect each other. Creativity, wisdom, and collective insight are some of the benefits that arise once respect is present.

Trust

One of the most important traits of a good professional relationship is trust.

When you trust your colleagues, you develop a significant bond that allows you to communicate and work in a more effective manner. Being open with your actions and thoughts is key.

Open-minded

By acknowledging and accepting that your colleagues think and perceive things differently, you’ll be able to embrace diversity. When someone has a “weird” idea or insight, you shouldn’t immediately reject it.

Take your time to consider the message behind the words and learn to factor new ideas into your decision-making process.

Responsibility

If you said something, assume full responsibility. If you promise something, make sure you keep your word.

If you’re having a bad day, learn to keep it to yourself instead of blaming your colleagues for your problems. Make sure you’re mindful and responsible all the time!

Transparent communication

A good working relationship is highly dependent on honest and open communication. Since you’re probably communicating all day through IMs, emails, or face-to-face, learn to communicate as effectively as possible.

Now that we’ve covered what makes good workplace relationships and the benefits that come with them, let’s explore several insightful tips and tricks that will help you create and nurture such relationships.

Learn to listen

There are very few people who actually know how to listen. They may say they’re listening, but they’re actually half-listening. What do I mean by that?

When you’re listening to someone talking, you need to provide your undivided attention to his message. When somebody speaks to you, don’t allow yourself to think of replies. Keep your attention on the message behind his words and think of an answer only after he has finished talking.

If someone mentions bad ideas or bad solutions, don’t judge. Try to see the reason why your coworker is thinking that way and prepare an answer only after you’ve heard the entire input.

Respect your colleagues’ time

Time is money. Time is precious. Time is the most limited resource. When it comes to respecting your colleagues, you first need to respect their time.

If you’re having trouble with a task and your coworkers are also busy with their own tasks, don’t interrupt them.

If you establish a meeting or a deadline, stick to it. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting other people’s time. Whenever people are affected by your actions, do your best not to waste anyone’s time.

building positive workplace relationships

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Improve your communication

If you want to build better workplace relationships, you should focus on yourself. Your communication skills will have a huge impact on everything you do. If you learn how to speak your ideas clearly, people will listen. If you’re not confident in your ideas and communication lacks, don’t expect others to follow up or agree with you.

When it comes to shaping personal relationships in a workplace environment, the way you communicate will influence the quality of your bonds.

An open-minded person who speaks openly about his main issues will often build purposeful connections with his peers. Moreover, communication must always be honest. Don’t try to cover your mistakes or lie to your employees when you’ve done something wrong. Improve your communication, and you’ll notice that you’ll be able to find a solution to every problem.

Offer constructive feedback

Feedback is useful as long as it’s constructive. There are some employees who are always criticising their peers without offering any sort of value. An insightful comment is ten times more effective than a mean critique.

Feedback is all about constructive solutions. If you’re noticing that your coworkers are doing something wrong, think about the solutions before you point out their mistakes. This way, you’ll become the person that always helps other colleagues grow. The more you help your team, the more success your company will witness.

Assume responsibility and acknowledge your mistakes

People who assume responsibility for their actions are way more respected and valued than those who are hiding away from their issues and blaming others for their own mistakes.

To acknowledge that you’ve done something wrong is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Whenever you admit that it was you who screwed up, you’ll show that you’re transparent, honest, and responsible. These are important traits that any co-worker will appreciate regardless of your mistakes.

Be proactive

Another critical trait is proactivity. Rather than waiting for colleagues or bosses to tell you what to do, you should “get going” on your own. As you work for a company, you’ll discover many issues that need to be solved. Most of the time, these issues will be delayed or unrecognised.

By planning a set of actions and the proper solutions to making things better in your company, you’re going to gain the respect of your peers and managers.

You can also be proactive in your workplace relationships. If your colleagues are having trouble with certain aspects and you’re able to help, don’t wait until they ask. Come up with solutions and offer your help.

Avoid gossip

Gossiping is an ugly behaviour that will only damage your professional reputation and personal relationships. It is the opposite of transparent communication.

If you have something to say about one of your colleagues, make sure you say it to his face rather than gossiping about it.

Appreciate, motivate, and inspire your colleagues

Learn to appreciate your colleagues for even the smallest accomplishments. Congratulate them and let them know that they did great.

Motivate your coworkers whenever they feel low and remind them of their previous successes. If someone’s having serious personal problems, invite them to go out and talk about it in case they need it.

If you observe that any of your colleagues need inspiration, try to provide it in any way you can. Be the person that seeks to appreciate, motivate, inspire, and help others without asking anything in return!

In Summary

Positive workplace relationships are not a bonus. They’re a huge necessity that you should prioritise in order to enrich your professional career and personal life. Spending so much time with your colleagues is a big benefit in the relationship-building process because it allows you to explore and acknowledge the intentions, mindset, traits, and flaws of your peers.

Take today’s tips and tricks into close consideration and start taking action. Even if your relationships at work are mediocre right now, it’s never too late to change that. Change your mindset and attitude and start laying the foundation of fruitful interpersonal experiences!

 

About the Author

Isabell Gaylord is an academic tutor and the manager of an Australian essay writing service. She has started her career as a freelance editor at Best Essay while she was still in college, and continued her writing journey ever since then.

At the current moment, she’s collaborating with a research paper writing service that helps university students deal with various academic tasks. Personally, she enjoys traveling and learning new languages.