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Relationship Building: Coworker-to-Coworker

Updated: Feb 7


Group of hands over each other in teamwork exercise, relationship building

For a long time and especially in today’s workplace landscape, working together with others has been instrumental to being successful both in and out of the workplace. However, though it may seem self-explanatory, forming a connection with your coworkers may feel a little daunting at first. Here are some tips on how to start forming harmonious bonds with your colleagues.


Maintain an Open Mind

The first step to forming a relationship with someone, as well as the most important, is accepting who they are. Being accepting of others and their backgrounds is crucial to a healthy workplace relationship. Get to know what everyone’s good at/weaker at to help contribute to a more harmonious work dynamic. Don’t overthink things, be thoughtful of others as you are most likely viewing everything through your own biased perspectives.



Be a Good Listener & Helper

In the workplace, you and your coworkers are a team. In order to build solid, trusting foundations for positive relationships, you need to be a good team player. This means applying your strengths where they are most beneficial, as well as knowing where your own weaknesses lie and when to call on others for help when needed. The help and support go both ways; in order to build up mutually trusting relationships, also be on the lookout for when you can help your coworkers. In the workplace, ask questions to show that you are interested and engaged in work activity, but also be present and be a good listener for your coworkers. Through this, you will be able to establish yourself as a reliable, trustworthy, and most importantly, kind coworker.



Be Consistent & Trustworthy

Be intentional about establishing trust between yourself and others in the workplace

Put forth deliberate effort in your tasks-- especially group projects-- and show that you are a reliable and consistent coworker.



Be Respectful on Social Media

Nowadays, social media has become one of the most popular ways of reaching out and connecting with people, coworkers included. While social media remains a great way to stay connected and updated with coworkers and peers, it can also be a hotbed of miscommunication, stress, and potential harm. The content you post and interact with on social media can be potentially hurtful to others and damaging to your own image if not handled well. This can in turn harm your place in your company, and your team as a whole. As a result, it is very important to always be very careful about what you post on social media and how you are using your social media as a whole so that it can remain a comfortable, creative, and positive tool.


Overall, open communication is key to building trust between yourself and your coworkers. Many, if not all, of these tips fall under the umbrella of open communication. As long as you stay true to yourself and others, speak your mind respectfully and effectively, and make yourself available in all the ways to your team, you are well on your way to establishing positive, trusting relationships in the workplace!


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