7 Ways to Build Work Relationships That Last for Long
Working with any organization is not just about achieving targets and meeting deadlines. There is much more to the workplace than just sitting in front of computers and obtaining results. We work with a bunch of people but to form a community that thrives on the good relations among workers is dependent on us.
We are social animals and we cannot survive without socializing even at work therefore, we need to maintain work relationships.
What is a Work Relationship?
The relationships that you form with the people that work with you, those are your work relationships. Your work relationships depend upon you and your boss equally. You form some relationships while some are forced on you when your boss assigns you with a team. Regardless, there can be several types of it.
a. Co-workers
This is a very general and formal form of a relationship. Everyone who works with you is your co-worker. However, you can form better work relations with these co-workers later.
b. Work Friends
These people will make you want to come to work. These are your friends and you collaborate better with them. Your work bond is far too much fun with them than others. They inspire you and appreciate your work and it goes both ways.
c. Team Members
The team you work with are your team members. Your team members can be your coworkers and work friends, depending upon which team you fall in. This category of work relationship is totally dependent on the management.
d. Mentor/Mentee Relationship
This relationship can or cannot be professional because even your friend can be your mentor at work. You seek guidance from them and discuss your work problems with them in the hope that they will show you a solution for them. They are your inspiration and you look up to them.
e. Boss-Worker Relationship
This is the kind of work relationship that you form with your managerial team. Those who are in charge to assign you work and check your performance. Now generally, workers honey trap their boss by sweet-talking them to gain their confidence.
This however does not always work. If you want to have a confident work relationship with your boss, you simply impress them by your good performance.
Importance of Work Relationships
Whether you are forming work relationships with a purpose or not, they always contribute towards something at work.
a - Make Work Fun
That is the quality of those relations that they make your work a lot more fun. Even if you hated your job before, when you establish good relations at work, you start to enjoy working. You understand the value of your work and you try to maximize your work proficiency by working with the people you like.
b - Inspire You to be Better
Work relationships, in one way or another, inspire you to be good at your job. As you see them working and making efforts to uphold their reputation, you try to do the same to create a reputation for you by working hard.
c - Better Work Collaboration
If you establish good relationships at work, you will get to know their work better. By doing so, you will start to understand the procedures of doing a task so you will be able to collaborate better with them on it.
d - Understanding Others Perspective
When you build effective work relationships, you get along with your team and coworkers. This helps you to understand their point of view. You try to see things from their perspective before finalizing things. You take a stand for them and they do the same for you.
How to Build an Effective Work Relationship?
While building effective work relationships could be a child’s play for a few, many still shy away from communicating with others, to begin with. Here are several tips that can lead to forming good work relationships.
1- Keep a Check on Your Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
The way you communicate with your coworkers is the foundation of you establishing a relationship. Communication does not mean uttering words to convey information only, it also includes your body gestures, your facial expressions, and how you address others. Remember, a smile goes a long way.
2- Be Prepared for the Unexpected
Building up a work relationship is the easier part, to maintain it is a whole other story. You cannot expect anything from anyone. Go with the flow. Let the work relations sink in and absorb the positive energy around you. Always expect the unexpected and be prepared for it. Let others know that they can depend on you but do not depend too much on others.
3- Keep Team Goals in Your Mind
A company is never about working for your own self only. Nothing you do is related to your personal growth. You have to interlink your personal goals with the team’s goals in order to achieve ultimate success. You will have your team’s respect because they will know that you are not self-involved and you think of everyone. This way you grow together with your coworkers and that will help you a lot in building good work relationships.
4- Keep Your Commitments
Quite easy yet difficult for many. Some are always with excuses and for some commitments mean nothing. The value that your commitments uphold is irreplaceable, especially at the workplace. Keep your commitments and you will form some better work relations.
5- Thank, Reward and Recognize Team Members Efforts
It is not that hard to show gratitude for someone’s effort. While it takes your few words to appreciate someone’s work or contribution in an assignment, it can enlighten someone’s day. Thank your team members very often. Let them know that their efforts are not being overlooked. Reward them with some great words, applause or standing ovations, if not with bonuses. This will create a place for you in your team members’ hearts and they will get along with you even better.
6- Raise Your Issues
Do not hesitate to raise your issues. You only think that raising an issue can jeopardize your work relations while actually, it saves you from a lot worse. If you do not address your issue with your coworkers you will not understand your role in it and you will perform poorly, thus causing you to lose your reputation among your work relationships. Therefore, it is always advisable to raise your issues after you analyze them.
7- Plan to Improvise
There is nothing that cannot be improved. If you are not doing good at work and you think you can do better than this then plan your work procedure. Lay down a strategy and see what needs to be improved. If you are having a hard time understanding your shortcomings, ask honest opinions from work friends and improvise to do better next time. This attitude can help you to build a good work relationship with your boss.
