You spend 40 hours a week at work, seeing and interacting with the same people every day. Do you have a good professional relationship with the people you work with? Despite having our own projects, assignments, and goals; we often have daily interactions with the people we work with. This is why it is important to learn how to develop professional relationships in your workplace.
Having the ability to build and maintain professional relationships is important in today’s work environment. In an era where communication is a key skill and collaboration is critical, having great professional relationships with your co-workers can make a significant difference in everyday work scenarios. Great professional relationships can improve your mood at work, encourage collaboration and even foster greater productivity.
Whether you are a team player or a solitary worker, learning how to develop professional relationships has many benefits in the workplace.
How To Develop Professional Relationships
Emotional Intelligence
Being able to use emotional intelligence in the workplace to develop strong professional relationships is a key skill that all employees should master. Emotional Intelligence (also referred to as Emotional Quotient or EQ) is defined as the ability to identify, understand, and control your own emotions. Understanding how to control your emotions in any scenario, as well as understanding the emotions of others, can help you manage stress, diffuse conflict, and build strong relationships.
Having a Strong Work Ethic
Bringing a strong work ethic into the workplace holds many benefits. Your co-workers not only see you as a respectable and hard-working team member but also, reliable, and trustworthy. This opens the doors for more conversations and interactions between the people around you. Your co-workers can trust you with getting the job done and can rely on you if they ever need any help.
By simply being conscientious, you can be the bridge to developing a professional relationship with the people at your workplace.
Acknowledging your Co-workers
Although it may seem difficult for some to initiate conversations or try to build relationships; sometimes all it takes is small, but consistent, gestures to start and develop a professional relationship at work.
Acknowledging your co-workers is a great and easy way for you to develop and grow your relationships. For example, you can try inviting your co-workers out for lunch and enjoy the lunch break with them. This gives you an opportunity to learn more about your co-workers during work hours, discovering their passions and other details about their lives outside of work.
Perhaps, you like to enjoy having lunch by yourself, that is okay too. One thing you can try is asking your co-workers if they want a coffee or drink when you come back from your lunch break.
From saying “good morning” with a smile, congratulating your team members for their new achievements, or inviting them out for lunch, you can start the growth of a new relationships between you and the people you work with.