Healthy relationships at work can make a world of difference in the productivity, efficiency and well-being of your employees. It’s been shown that having a network of positive work relationships helps employees to:
- Have a more enjoyable workday, and feel more satisfied with the work they do
- Improve teamwork which allows for increased innovation and creativity
- Feel a sense of freedom in the office that they don’t have to avoid or tiptoe around others
- Learn to trust one another on a personal and professional level
This improved workplace morale can benefit your wellness program, your company productivity and your bottom line. Take the time to address workplace relationships in your program by promoting these seven relationship building practices.
#1: Give, Give, Give
Relationships are obviously about a balance of give and take. In the workplace, however, it’s easy to fall into a rut of “take, take, take” in order to get your own work done. To build relationships, share what you can with others. You can give encouragement, time, compliments, favors, tips, communication, resources and anything else that will help someone get their job done.
#2: Spread the Love
Workplace relationships can help employees to create a nice professional network. With that in mind, it’s important to develop these relationships with influential people and the “Average Joe” in your company. Avoid getting tunnel vision towards people in positions of power. Reach out to your superiors, your inferiors, clients, supporting staff and anyone you run into often at work. You’d be surprised what can come down the road from the seemingly average relationships you make right now.
#3: Strike a Balance
This is incredibly important to remember if you want to still promote productivity at work. Yes, relationships are important, but you are also at the office to get a job done. When the two start to interfere with each other, it’s time to take a step back and see where you’ve gotten off track. Try your best to maintain a happy medium between work relationships and your actual job duties.
#4: Don’t Limit Your Circle
The traditional girl scout song, “make new friends and keep the old” applies here. Once you start to develop a network of friends at work, don’t stop reaching out to new people you meet. So you think you’re absolutely set and you don’t need to meet anyone else? Uhh..odds are you’re wrong. Don’t shut yourself off from developing new relationships—you’ll miss out on some great opportunities!
#5: Cut the Drama
Office relationships are great for employee morale. When those relationships become gossip-focused or involved with “work politics,” however, they become infectious and can cause a lot of damage. This kind of negativity not only drains employees individually, but can spell disaster for any sort of teamwork or interdependent projects.
#6: Be Trustworthy
There comes a time in everyone’s lives when they realize relationships are built on trust. This includes work relationships! This trust goes both ways in the relationship. It’s important to trust others and the work they do. It’s equally (if not, more) important to be trustworthy and produce work that others can trust. Be honest, be transparent, communicate well and get your stuff done.
#7: Communicate
This is essential in all aspects of the workplace—especially when it comes to relationships. Communicate well. This means sharing about yourself and your work, listening to others when they speak and doing so in a positive way. Positive messages in the workplace can make all the difference in fostering a healthy, productive environment. Keep this in mind when you work with others and begin developing positive relationships in the workplace.
Essentially, positive employee relationships can work wonders within and for your corporate wellness program. If your workforce seems a bit off in the realm of productivity, innovation, creativity, teamwork, trust and overall employee morale, check out the relationships (or lack thereof) that have formed. Stress the importance of positive workplace relationships in your employee wellness program with these seven excellent ideas!
What have you done to foster relationships in your office?
