A work environment where co-workers get along with each other is one that’s conducive to organizational success. The better the relations between the employees, the greater they’ll work together, which’ll only lead to good things.
Having trouble getting along with co-workers? In this article we’ll cover the 10 best practices that you can implement today.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
1. Don’t overshare
While honesty and being open is something you should strive for in the workplace, you also need to avoid oversharing. When it comes to certain topics and issues, like personal ones, it’s best to keep it to yourself.
Ensure you keep discussions with your co-workers positive, and on the lighter side. Save the more intimate dialogue for those you’re closer to, like family and friends. If one of your co-workers has a strong relationship with you like that, then they might be fine.
To initiate this best practice strategy and get started today, sit back and analyze the situation. Look at all the relationships you have with your co-workers. Are there any that stand out regarding oversharing? You need to identify the ones where you might be saying too much.
Once you’ve identified the questionable co-worker relationships, begin by limiting dialogue. Actively try to talk to them less, but don’t outright ignore them. Keep any and all discussion vanilla.
Over time you should find that your co-workers will begin to get along with you better. You’ve respected their privacy and that’ll resonate with them. Keep it up and always remember to avoid oversharing to new employees.
2. Show interest in their hobbies and interests
It’s really important that you take the time to learn about what your co-workers' hobbies and interests are. Become a great listener, actively engage with them, show respect for what they like to talk about. Doing so will encourage them to reciprocate and do the same to you.
It’s also a good way to figure out whether or not you and a co-worker are a good fit. If you happen to genuinely be interested in what they have to say, it might be ideal to engage them.
To start this best practice off, consider asking a co-worker about what they’ve got planned on the weekend. Ask them when you’re both in the break room. This is a nonthreatening way to find out what their hobbies and interests might be.
Try to make sure that you come off natural and not forced. You don’t want to seem awkward, forced, or nosy. You want to appear casually interested in them, not obsessively prying into their affairs.
3. Start creating a relationship with co-workers from day one
It’s extremely important that you start to build a relationship with your fellow employees from day one. Doing so will show them that your efforts are authentic and not forced and contrived. They’ll see your genuine efforts as a sign of respect.
Whenever a new employee joins your office, try to be the one to show them the ropes. If you can, try to introduce them to other people. The better you can onboard them, the easier things will be for them, and the better they’ll get along with you.
To get started with this strategy, keep an eye out for when a new employee joins your office. Offer to show them around, and introduce them to your other workers. Use the lunch break as a way to meet other co-workers. Help them out with any problems they have.
4. Prioritize getting your work done
Although it may seem counterproductive, prioritizing getting your work done is essential to getting along with your co-workers. Spending too much time gossiping and socializing with other employees will no doubt put a strain on your daily workflows.
As a result of this, you might actually be making your co-workers have to shoulder a heavier workload. They are likely to not take too kindly to this, as you’re making things harder for them. As an employee that’s part of a team, it’s your responsibility to take care of your workflow.
Every day, you should know exactly what you need to accomplish, and how long it’ll take. Off that estimate, you’ll know how much time you have to socialize with your co-workers. Obviously this won’t be consistent, as your workload will be greater at certain times of the year.
To get started with this best practice, outline what you need to accomplish at the start of every work day. Roughly estimate how much time and effort this’ll take to accomplish. If you’re busy with work and a co-worker wants to chat, be honest and polite to them, explaining your situation.
5. Make yourself approachable to co-workers
One of the easiest ways to improve your relationships with other co-workers is to make yourself more approachable. This means that you’re not closed off, negative in demeanor and body language. You’re smiling, and you pay attention to your fellow employees.
It’s really about respect. By making yourself more inviting, your co-workers will feel more comfortable around you. They’ll talk with you more, opening themselves up. People are naturally more talkative and social around those that they feel secure to be around.
To get started with this strategy, there are a number of things you can do. You can begin with your body language, demeanor, and tone of voice.
Try to open up your body so that it’s more inviting. Have a good, upright posture — don’t slouch. When someone speaks to you, turn your body to them and look them in the eye. A large part of communication is done with your body, and doing these things will communicate respect.
Your demeanor and tone of voice should match your body language as well. Be positive, and show general interest in others. Avoid being monotone and negative. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.
If your team communicates a lot online you can use an app like Karl to show appreciation and recognition.
It allows you to give kudos, shout outs, and praise to high performing employees. It syncs in with Slack, but can also be used with other team communication tools. There’s also an analytics suite, as well as a leaderboard — so you can keep track of who’s performing exceptionally.
Other strategies include keeping your office door open, and not wearing headphones on all the time.
6. Be respectful in the workplace
How you conduct yourself in the workplace can have dramatic effects on the relationship with your co-workers. If you are lazy, frequently showing up late to work, or wearing inappropriate, messy attire, you’re not showing respect. If your phone has a loud ring, that’s disrespectful too.
Speaking loudly is also something you should avoid, as people are working. You’re not showing respect to others, and they’ll resent you for it. If you also fail to respond to emails promptly you’ll upset your fellow employees. This is because you’re most likely making things harder for them.
If you want to get along with your co-workers you need to rectify these negative habits. Start by creating and being consistent with a routine in the morning. Wake up early and appropriately groom yourself. Stick with it — you’ll find it’ll become easier and easier — automatic even.
As for being at work, there are a number of things you should do. Put your phone on vibrate only. People don’t want to hear your disruptive ringtone while they work. Also keep your voice down, and don’t use inappropriate language. You might be offending others without knowing.
Lastly, respond fast to emails and other work-related tasks. Delaying yourself will make things much harder for others, which will negatively affect your relationship with them.
7. Avoid negative gossip and drama
When it comes to your interactions with your co-workers you should try to avoid negative topics like gossip and drama. These sorts of things can create clique-like environments within a workplace, turning people against each other. It’s not conducive to a healthy work environment.
Try to keep all of your conversations with your fellow employees generally positive. Talk about what you’re doing on the weekend. Ask about their hobbies and interests. Avoid complaining about the managers, or another individual in the office.
You’ll likely find that people don’t want to associate with you if you’re always discussing negative things all the time. That kind of bad energy is infectious — and it’ll drag them down, too. Soon, you might find that you’re being socially alienated in the workplace because of it.
To combat this, try to make a conscious effort to keep things light. Stick to positive topics, things that make people feel good. Ask about their family, their hobbies and interests, or what they’ve got planned on the weekend. Remind yourself to implement this everyday at work.
8. Be open and accepting to feedback
When it comes to getting along with your co-workers, it helps to be open and accepting to feedback. Oftentimes your fellow employees are who you go to, to vent and complain. They might seem like they don’t mind being an emotional pillow, but it likely bothers them.
Instead of expecting them to nod and agree with everything you say, try asking for their honest thoughts. Being able to accept feedback and criticism is an admirable trait that’ll make you more likeable to your peers.
Next time you are unloading on an employee, asking for their honest opinion. Preface that you want them to not hold back. Be ready to handle what they may have to say about you. It might hurt your feelings, but don’t get upset. They’re only trying to help you.
You can do this when you’re on lunch break, talking to an employee. think about getting their opinion on a dispute, issue, or problem you have. Don’t do this all the time, as you’ll wear them out. Every so often is good — perhaps once a month, on a topic that really matters.
9. Ask and offer help whenever possible
If you want to build a rapport with your fellow employees, then you should ask for their help, or offer it yourself. Asking for their help shows you value them and their expertise, wisdom, insight, and knowledge. Offering help shows you’re interested in them, which is good for relations.
People like to be the teacher — they also like to talk, if you get them going. You can build their confidence up by picking their brain, and help solve your own problems. It’ll make your relationship with them much stronger, which is extremely important.
As for offering them help? Your co-workers will have their own problems, issues, and dilemmas. By giving them a helping hand, you’re making it easier for them to deal with these issues. They’ll appreciate you for your contribution, which’ll strengthen your relationship with them.
There are so many ways you can ask or offer for help. To get started, be empathetic during point projects and workflow tasks. Are they struggling with something? Are you struggling with something. Working together as a team is vital to success as an organization.
You can also look to help — or get help — during your lunch break. It doesn’t have to specifically be about work-related issues. Perhaps it’s something far more personal. Whatever it is, if you or them can provide help, encourage it.
10. Treat others how you’d want to be treated
This is an age-old saying, but it still rings true — it always will. Always try to treat others how you’d want to be treated. If you’re always complaining and gossiping negatively about others there’s a good chance they’re doing the same about you.
If you treat people poorly you shouldn’t be surprised to find out people treat you poorly. And why would you want to be treated badly? No one does. We want to be respected, to be thought of in high regard. It’s human nature — so why not encourage it?
The next time you’re in the office, go out of your way to be nice to people. Don’t force it, but make an obvious effort. Be consistent with it for long enough and you should notice people start to reciprocate back.
Conclusion
In this article we covered 10 of the best practices to get along better with your co-workers.
Employee relations are crucial to organizational success. A work environment that continually butts heads will be inefficient and unproductive. If a business is to succeed it must solve its internal issues.
We hope this article brought some value to you.
Got any questions? Leave a comment below.
