Best Ways to Build Relationships with Colleagues

• According to statistics, we have less and less close relationships at work. And the reason is not that there are more and more turn offs for girls in men. One of the possible reasons for this is: if earlier we wanted to find one work for a lifetime (which means that we expected to communicate with colleagues for many years), now it’s more common to change jobs. At the same time, data from numerous studies say that it is useful to establish friendships at work.

What is a colleague’s relationship? Experts believe that building them, it is very important to draw a line between the work and the personal life – and not try to cross it too quickly. At the beginning of a relationship with colleagues, it is safer to talk on neutral topics and seek common interests – and only later, when communication becomes closer and more open, talk about personal things. You should also be more careful with social networks: if you are worried that your colleagues, having access to your page, will imagine something wrong about you, think twice before confirming their friend request – or at least change the privacy settings.

Let’s talk about what to do to develop good working relationships in more detail.

• Why are relationships with colleagues so important?   

Relations in the team played a very important role in the life of every person. Problems at work adversely affect human health. A group of scientists from America decided to conduct many different experiments, thanks to which they learned that the negative attitude of colleagues at work makes a person very worried. The mood gets bad, performance deteriorates, problems begin in the family.

Scientists decided to conduct a study in which more than 100 people participated. They were divided into two subgroups and asked to lead a normal life: work, family. As it turned out, people who have good relations with colleagues not only returned home with a smile but also easily fell asleep after a long working day. Other people had spoiled relationships with work colleagues, which included a negative atmosphere inside the company and quarrels.

After the study, it was conducted that various problems both with health and in personal life can arise in case of constant nervous tension in relationships between coworkers. Negative emotions at work affect the human body, performance, health, and sleep. Therefore, scientists advise to necessarily spend more time after work with family and friends as well as engage in hobbies, listen to pleasant music and watch relaxing interesting films in case you do not know how to build strong relationships at work.

• How to start building good relationships with colleagues?       The place of work, whether you want it or not, will eventually become your second home. In order to become truly your own person in this second house, try to properly position yourself from the first day.

New to the team: the right behavior from the very beginning

Prepare a suit that matches the corporate culture of the company in advance. Do not forget to set and check the alarm. Being late is simply unacceptable. Your first day means a lot and it will contribute to building relationships with coworkers.

Share and be positive

When gathering for lunch, take with yourself delicious cookies or good sweets to put on a common table. Tea is drunk in almost every office, regardless of where employees dine. And this is a possibility to build strong relationships at work, establish personal bonds and communicate more personally.

Communication with colleagues

Having appeared at work, be calm, friendly and optimistic. Think of an unusual environment as the embodiment of another interesting stage of life, and colleagues as possible friends. However, getting acquainted, do not rush things. Trying to quickly show yourself in all its glory, you will look ridiculous.

Here are some typical novice mistakes:

• demonstration of intelligence, expressed in attempts to teach everyone and everything;
• protrusion of life experience, which translates into disgusting familiarity;
• an excessive initiative that violates the normal course of the office day in the company;
• excessive talkativeness and frankness.

The ideal behavior for you is unobtrusive observation. Look closely at the habits of colleagues, remember names and positions.

Keep your space clean

Put documents and personal stuff in boxes, and do not scatter them randomly. Before taking something from someone else’s table (for example, a stapler or pen), ask the owner for permission. Do not be confused because of the abundance of impressions. At first, focus not so much on the environment as on the deed. Perhaps at first, the assigned duties will seem incomprehensible and burdensome to you. No worries – in a week you will tackle them in a matter of seconds.

• How can you spoil relations with colleagues?

To establish good relationships with colleagues in the workplace you need not only to do a lot of things but not to do even more. For example, do not take the risk of spoiling relationships with colleagues and earning a bad reputation, along with other problems, raising provocative topics.

Gossip, conflicts, problems with leadership, loss of clients and other troubles – these are just some of the problems that await gullible and sociable employees who tell colleagues more than necessary. Experts in HR and corporate culture note that many sincerely consider the team to be almost their second family and in some situations are happy to share their joy or problem with a desktop neighbor to improve relationships at work. But unfortunately – exposing thus the “weak point”, and often not just one, you can easily become a victim.

Professional plans. Firstly, if you want to change jobs in the near future, and your manager does not know about it, then there is no need to tell colleagues about this intention – information can get to the management ahead of time. As a result, you may part with your post earlier than you planned, and your relationship with colleagues will also deteriorate. Secondly, do not say that you want to take the place of your leader, if such information falls into his hands, he may misunderstand everything.

Management Discussion. The actions of the management often perplex, annoy or worry us – this is a fact. However, it is better not to discuss this or describe working relationships with colleagues. Everyone may get dissatisfied with the actions of superiors, and even if your team discussion of superiors is the norm, then you should not support this trend. It’s not good to raise this topic both with one employee under the promise to keep it secret and with the team as a whole.

• Tips on how to build relationships with colleagues. How to stay on good terms with everyone after promotion? How to establish a relationship with coworkers since the first day? Read on for this and many more.

Try to ensure that friendship does not interfere with work

Do not forget that you have a responsibility to the company and the team, so when communicating with a colleague it is important to understand when you communicate as colleagues, and when as friends, no matter how obvious it sounds.

Stay confident

If you quarreled with a colleague with whom you should interact on business issues, it is better to try to resolve the conflict peacefully and discuss what happened between you so that the quarrel does not interfere with your work.

Someone gets a promotion and not you

If your colleague with whom you are friends and were on equal footing gets promoted, the most difficult thing in such a situation is to cope with a sense of injustice and other negative emotions. Remember that the success of a colleague does not cancel yours at all – and does not mean that you will not be promoted in the future.

You are now the boss

This imposes additional restrictions. It is possible to maintain good informal relations with subordinates in this case too – just be prepared for the fact that relations will change. Experts advise managers in such situations to have a clear idea of ​​how the company should develop, and try to adhere to it – even if your subordinate friends disagree with you or you have to make difficult decisions.

Listen to your colleagues

And show that you respect them, that you care about their problems. Work is a part of your life so you should trust your colleagues and do not try to pretend who you are not. Share and listen and you will have a whole lot of best friends so working will be pure fun.

• The team always seeks to subjugate the individual. Entering it, you need to be prepared for a strong influence. Resisting corporate identity is by no means the best strategy. You need to find a middle ground, that is, manage to not back down from your principles and at the same time avoid open confrontation with colleagues. Observing other people’s shortcomings, do not forget that you yourself can be wrong. Try to develop your communication skills, better understand people. Without the ability to behave properly at work, you will never be able to make a brilliant career.