Work relationships are important for building team morale, increasing productivity and making your day more pleasant overall.
Maintaining strong relationships with coworkers can be tricky when the work you’re doing is your primary focus. Relationships take intentional effort to grow and sustain, especially in hybrid work settings. But with solid coworker relationships, your work may even become easier!
Work relationships are important for building team morale, increasing productivity and making your day more pleasant overall. Without them, your job could be pretty frustrating, lonely and overwhelming.
So here are some tips for cultivating excellent relationships with your coworkers.
1. Celebrate Accomplishments
Everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work, so remember to celebrate with your coworkers when they accomplish something they’ve been working toward. It can be easy to let jealousy creep in when someone else is in the spotlight, but giving them a genuine “congratulations” will foster team spirit and authentic relationships.
2. Avoid Gossip
Participating in gossip and contributing to rumors can kill relationships. If other people know you gossip about coworkers, how can they trust that you won’t gossip about them, too? In some work environments, it’s hard to avoid these negative conversations. Try your best to redirect topics and keep conversations professional with people who tend to feed the rumors.
3. Balance Communication Quality & Quantity
Relationships require consistent, quality communication. Make sure you’re checking in with coworkers regularly, but not so much that you’re bothering them. It can be hard to maintain a relationship with someone who you rarely talk to or someone who is distracting you from your work. This goes for hybrid work settings, too. Intentionally reach out to virtual coworkers since you won’t be running into them at the water cooler, but also avoid blowing up their chats with constant messages.
4. Listen
Most people are looking to be heard in a relationship. They want to know that you care about what they’re saying, what they think and how they feel. And the best way to show that you care is to actively listen. Offer your undivided attention, give appropriate non-verbal cues like head nods and smiles and repeat what you hear to confirm understanding. In a virtual setting, close unnecessary tabs and make sure you’re looking directly into the camera so the other person knows that you’re listening.
5. Invite Collaboration
Creating the space to collaborate is a key step in growing relationships. When you invite someone to participate in a project or conversation it shows that you value their opinion, believe in their abilities and enjoy being around them. All of these things can encourage your coworkers to prioritize a relationship with you!
6. Show Appreciation
When a coworker helps you with a project or does something for you, make sure you thank them for their efforts. Showing appreciation promotes positivity, demonstrates to other people that you value their work and minimizes unnecessary competition that can stifle relationships.
7. Be Available & Open
It’s tough to have a relationship with someone who is never available or seems closed off. Whether your office door is always shut or you rarely answer messages, it can make people feel like they can’t or shouldn’t reach out to you, even if that isn’t your intention. Instead, be responsive and available for your coworkers as much as your work allows.
8. Allow Time For Small Talk
In virtual and in-person work settings, sometimes there isn’t time to talk about personal and other non-work-related topics. Work with your team and supervisor to set aside time at the beginning of meetings for small talk to catch up with each other on a deeper level than what’s on the meeting agenda. This will help everyone build connections and spark future conversations.
9. Use Video When Possible
It can be hard to maintain relationships with your coworkers without being able to see their faces. Even if your home office is a little messy or you aren’t wearing the best outfit, try to use your camera for virtual meetings as much as possible. That will make it easier to connect, give nonverbal cues and show others that you’re paying attention.
10. Be Authentic, Consistent & Positive
People can usually tell when you aren’t being your true self and it can also be offputting if you’re coming across as constantly negative. Or maybe one day you’re okay with joking around with coworkers before meetings, but then the next day you shut down all personal conversations because you have too much work to do. That can be very confusing and inconsistent for the people around you. Focus on being authentic, positive and consistent to avoid unnecessary conflicts, misunderstandings and hard feelings.
Strong coworker relationships are crucial for a positive and engaging work environment. You spend 25% or more of your week with your coworkers, so give a few of these tips a try to start prioritizing your relationships with them!
