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It’s inevitable to mingle and work with your colleagues when you spend a third of your day in the office for most days of your week. There will be conflicts, pushbacks, and all sorts of petty issues all professionals struggle with.
Learning how to work better with others will help you and your co-workers create a more harmonious working relationship. Having great professional relationships among co-workers also improves the productivity of the people involved.
A short greeting in the morning is always pleasant. Greeting each other good morning or a simple hi or hello can brighten up someone’s day. It connects professionals, makes them feel good, and energizes them to start their day positively.
A courteous greeting shows politeness which reduces awkwardness between employees. It diminishes any tension or discomfort between colleagues who will have to work together for the rest of the day. Greet each other. It’s a free thing.
Active listening means listening to fully understand what is being said to respond accordingly. This practice goes a long way in every professional setting. Listening attentively shows that you’re paying attention to the speaker.
The best way to develop this habit is to practice it.
Professionals have different preferences when communicating. Others prefer the recommended office line (like Skype or Slack), some prefer emails, while others prefer face-to-face conversations. Coordinate and work out which communication line to use when you correspond with your peers.
For emails and online IMs, keep messages short and concise to avoid misunderstandings from occurring. It’s better to keep all lines of communication open, too. This encourages others to approach you for follow-up questions and enquiries regarding work in their preferred medium.
Another best practice is to let your officemates know when you’re away. Either let them know in advance during a meeting or set an auto-response email stating that you’re currently on leave.
Two of the foundations of a great working relationship are respect and trust. Learning how to work better with others will require you to trust and respect the other person. To earn someone’s respect, learn to respect others first. Respect doesn’t come with a title.
Professionals are treated rightly because of their attitude towards work and their treatment of their peers and leaders. Remove your ego and treat other professionals the way you want to be treated. Respect can be earned with trust.
Trusting your team and co-workers to do well creates a powerful bond between you and them. It grows to everyone relying on each other, opening up to constructive criticisms, and creating a deeper bond between each other.
There are two forms of criticism: destructive and constructive. Choose the latter all the time. Constructive criticism promotes learning and eliminates strain between professionals.
Learn to accept feedback and criticisms too. If you can give suggestions to your co-workers, don’t be offended when it’s their time to offer your proposals and suggestions to improve your work.
Learning is a two-way street. Don’t let pride hinder you from accomplishing greater outcomes.
One of the main causes of office conflicts is the work output of professionals. Although some professionals play an independent role in their company, the output they produce still affects other professionals.
This is more important for workers that work alongside a group of people. There will be many people contributing to finish one project.
Do your part and make sure to give your best to finish the project on time and produce a quality product. Meeting your deadlines and making sure you do your job well will earn your co-workers’ respect.
Learn more about your colleagues a little better. Knowing how far they travel from work, their status in life, their likes and preferences, and such are good conversation starters to know them better.
Learn a few personal things about your co-workers without going beyond the boundaries of work. Talking about something outside of work improves the relationship between co-workers.
Going the extra mile is a very broad term. However, when you’re learning how to work better with your colleagues it simply means going beyond your job description.
Lend a helping hand when your officemate has to carry three trays of coffee to the meeting room or giving out a little something to everybody on Valentine’s day.
Spending a few more minutes to finish your tasks before going home is going the extra mile too. There are many ways to exude kindness, courteousness, and dedication to work. You only have to go beyond your workload from time to time.
Agreeing and accepting tasks is not a good way to get in someone’s good graces. Learn to say no to things that hinder you from achieving your goals and stops you from completing your tasks.
Learn to set boundaries between you and your co-workers. This will help you get along better in the future. Have mutual respect for each other’s spaces and limits.
These are all good practices on working well with your colleagues. Aside from the tips listed above, there are other things to help you have a better working relationship with your co-workers.
Phones are on the top list of things that disrupt professionals from their work. It’s perceived as a rude behaviour to put your phone’s volume on high especially if you’re involved in an active community. Keep your phone on silent or vibrate to prevent causing disruptions at work.
It is impolite to blast music in the office. Your office space is a shared space. If listening pumps you to work better, use earphones instead. However, make sure that your co-workers are still able to communicate with you. Either use only one earphone or keep the volume of your music on low.
Avoid staring at the workspace of your colleague. This can cause the other person to feel uncomfortable. Another thing that can cause dispute among officemates is borrowing things and not giving it back. Prevent from asking for things at most times and respect their privacy.
Keep your desk and office space clean. Although the company employs a maintenance team, it’s your responsibility to keep your station clean. If you’ve accumulated clutter through the day, make sure to throw them out before you leave the office.
Bad odour can be distractive. Keep hygiene a priority to show respect to your officemates who comes looking their best every day. Use industrial strength antiperspirants if you suffer from excessive sweating. Come in well-groomed — hair brushed, clothes ironed, and shoes cleaned.
Companies have different dress code policies. Follow the advised work attire to wear in the office. If your company has a casual dress code policy, make sure to wear presentable and appropriate work clothes.
Timeliness is an important work ethic. Make it a habit to come on time to the office. Timeliness exhibits a person’s time management skills. If you can show that you can come to work on time, you are already showing that you can perform and finish projects before the deadline.
Gossip mills are the cause of discord between workers. Stray away from people who love to share gossip. If you get involved in one, the best way to resolve the issue is to talk to the people involved directly. This will immediately clear the bad air that’s been milling around in your office.
Courtesy is a personal trait that will make people like you more. Always say your pleases, thank yous, and welcomes. This shows how much you value and appreciate the professionals that make your day and job better.
Practice these tips and refine your work ethics. These will teach you how to work better with your colleagues. Practising these little things will turn them into a habit which will make it easier for you to communicate with others better.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
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