Maybe you just started your new job at Black Tie Moving or a local marketing agency. Whatever job you landed, congrats on the new career endeavor! Now, you may wonder how to have a positive relationship with your new coworkers.
Here are 4 tips on building healthy relationships with coworkers!
Set Boundaries
Personal boundaries are essential to any relationship you have. There are no exceptions when it comes to setting boundaries at the office. Conflicts, mental tension, and misunderstandings happen when you don’t have a firm grasp on your boundaries.
It’s important to establish workplace boundaries at the start of your employment. It’s much more challenging to go back and set rules that you’ve already allowed to be broken. If you find that you’ve communicated your boundaries, and they aren’t received well – this doesn’t mean you should let them go. Instead, you should communicate with the coworker who violated the boundary to gain a better understanding.
Should you be met with resistance to your boundaries, it’s important that you mention this to the Human Resources Department. After all, under no circumstances is it acceptable that your personal boundaries are violated in the office. This creates an unsafe atmosphere for you, which you don’t have to tolerate at the office.
Seek Different Perspectives
We all have our differences – some for better and others for worse. It’s crucial to remember that just because you think one way, it doesn’t mean that your coworker will view a situation the same. This is why it’s so important that you acknowledge the different perspectives that are involved with each scenario.
In order to have a healthy relationship with your coworkers, you need to always seek to understand them. Assumption is your worst enemy when it comes to viewing those you work with. You never know what someone is going through, so it’s best to always start each encounter or conversation with an open mind and compassion.
Keep Your Personal Life Outside the Office
It’s hard not to share your personal life with people whom you spend hours a day with. However, try to keep from revealing too much about your life with others inside the office. This is how cliques are born, and it also could get messy if you have a falling out with a coworker.
There’s no harm in sharing some minor details about how your weekend went or what you have planned for vacation. Yet, try and keep the information you share with coworkers to a bare minimum. Be friendly but steer clear of building close friendships with your coworkers.
No Gossiping!
This should go without saying, but don’t participate in gossip in the workplace. Even by listening to someone else gossip, you immediately become involved. Consider how you would feel if you knew that others were talking about you. This creates a toxic work environment.
If someone approaches you with gossip, kindly let them know that you don’t wish to participate in it. You could even suggest that they share their feelings with the person they are referring to instead of spreading their feelings around the office.