The ability to build great relationships in the workplace is essential today. Building better relationships at work is essential for career growth. The workplace used to be a place where one could go, put in eight hours, and go home to loved ones. It wasn’t a place for friendships or significant connections. However, that is no longer the case.
Today, almost everyone spends a significant amount of time at work; almost as much time as they spend at home or anywhere else. Given the amount of time invested in the workplace, people want to see a greater return on their time investment. Consequently, building relationships in the workplace has become an essential factor for career growth and promotion.Â
In our post today, we take a look at why building better relationships at work is important. We also discuss some of the best ways to build relationships at work that can help your career. We believe you’ll find these suggestions helpful, even if you are not an extrovert. Other related posts in our Blog that you might find useful are listed below:
- Seven Team Management Skills you need to Effectively Lead your Team
- The Importance of Integrity in the Workplace
- How to be more Productive at Work
Why building better Relationships in the Workplace is Important
Human beings are naturally social creatures. We crave friendship and positive interactions just as much as we do food and water. It therefore makes sense to conclude that building better relationships at work will lead to a happier and more productive worker.
Besides this, healthy work relationships help build a professional network of resources and associates that know your value and want you to succeed. A great working relationship with coworkers, customers, suppliers and key stakeholders is essential to one’s career success. So, it is important to build and maintain good relationship with these people.
How to build great Relationships in the Workplace
Now that we know why workplace relationships are worth the investment, let us take a look at some of the best ways to build great work relationships.
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Develop your people skills: Good relationships start with good people skills. Regardless of your skills and experience, you will need to win people over in order to succeed. As humans, our deepest desires stem from a need to feel valuable. Therefore, the number one secret to improving your people skills is to make others feel important.
- Schedule time to build relationships: It’s important to devote a portion of your day as often as you can towards building better relationships. You can do this in simple ways such as popping into someone’s office during lunch, or asking a colleague out for lunch or a quick cup of coffee. These little interactions help build the foundation of a good work relationship.
- Build trust: Trust requires time to build and can easily be compromised. One way to build trust is to make good on your word. For example, keep to your schedules and deadlines; and in situations when you absolutely can’t, be sure to give advanced notice. If you do, you will build a reputation as someone that is reliable and dependable.
- Engage in open communication: Communicating in an open and honest manner, in any relationship, is critical. By being open and authentic in your communication, you show people who you are. Making things up or lying is deceptive and can turn people off towards you.
- Create mutually beneficial outcomes: At the end of the day, mutual benefits are the payoff for investing time and energy into workplace relationships. Think about the aspects of the relationship you find valuable and want to retain. Then think about what your contributions will be. Mutually beneficial relationships always prove to be the most valuable in the workplace, and generally in life.
- Embrace individual differences: In this day and age, it can be nerve-wracking trying to bond with coworkers. After all, knowing what is appropriate with each colleague, or how your actions will be interpreted, can be tricky. As a general rule, practice care and respect for people and see them as individuals, not just coworkers. Understand that we have all different backgrounds and experiences. By being respectful in all situations, you can avoid misunderstandings because your genuine intentions will be apparent, even when you make mistakes.
- Control your emotions: All new relationships are exciting but can also make you feel anxious. Identify practices you can use to feel comfortable in even the most uncomfortable moments. Controlling emotions such as anger will give you a reputation as someone who is level-headed and balanced.
Building work relationships often provides increased resources to help get your job done in an efficient manner. Doing so will also help you and those around you enjoy greater satisfaction at work. Just remember that like every great relationship, it must not be one-sided. Try to ensure that you are also contributing something tangible to the relationship.
How have you built better relationships at work? What techniques did you use? Feel free to leave us a comment below. We would love to hear from you as always.
Today’s Funny Quote
As is our custom, we will conclude our post today with a funny quote. Our funny quote today is by Lily Tomlin, the American Actress and Comedian
I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
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