Do you want to improve work relationships?
If you do, then read along with us.
Relationships are the bedrock of society.
In other words, relationships are needed for people to connect and create a good environment to live and work in.
Whether at work or in personal life, if your relationships are unhealthy, you will struggle with certain things.
Hence, you need to work to build and better your relationships.
In this article, we will be focusing on work relationships, and how to improve them.
So, we advise that you carefully follow us to the end.
We will begin by looking closely at what work relationships are…
What Are Work Relationships? – How to Improve Work Relationships
To better explain what work relationships are, we will first explain the words that make up the term.
Work has different definitions and usage.
However, the definition that concerns us defines work as the job or occupation of a person.
Another definition we would be applying to this discussion is that work is one’s place of employment.
A relationship on the other hand is defined as an association or connection with someone.
Since we now understand what these two words are, what are work relationships?
Well, work relationships are the connections or associations we form with people in our place of employment, or people we deal with in our job’s position.
For example, the connection you have with your employees, customers or clients, investors, and suppliers are work relationships.
If your relationships with them are unhealthy, then your business will be negatively affected.
This is one major reason, you should work and strive to build, maintain, and improve your relationships with them.
Factors that Make Up Good Work Relationships – How to Improve Work Relationships
Knowing and understanding the factors that make up good work relationships will help you to evaluate your relationships.
Furthermore, it will help you to identify the aspects you have to improve on.
So, below are the factors that make up good work relationships:
Trust
Trust is the feeling or belief that someone or something is reliable.
When there is trust in work relationships there will be fewer issues in the relationship.
To build trust with people, you need to show that you are reliable and show that you are trustworthy.
Open Communication – How to Improve Work Relationships
Every relationship needs good communication.
Good and open communication ensures that there is no misunderstanding.
It ensures that every party in a relationship is allocated due respect and understanding.
Acceptance
People come from different backgrounds and cultures.
Hence, diversity is something that is found in relationships.
Being able to accept and embrace diversity is a factor that is very essential in building and maintaining good work relationships.
Mindfulness in Action and Words – How to Improve Work Relationships
In every relationship, people make mistakes.
However, it is the way you handle it that matters the most.
Accepting responsibility for every one of your actions and words ensures that a good relationship is fostered.
Being mindful of how your action and words can affect the other party in a relationship helps you to communicate better.
It also helps to ensure that you do not let your negative emotions affect others.
Team Player
People who work and associate well in a group tend to grow stronger relationships.
In the workplace, teamwork is vital.
So, being a team player is important to ensure that good work relationships are fostered.
Relationship Skills – How to Improve Work Relationships
In this discussion, we will share great tips that you can practice and attain a better relationship with people at work.
However, before we do that, you need to understand that to effectively build and improve your work relationship; you need to possess what we call “relationship skills”.
Relationships skills are a set of skills and qualities that make it easier for a person to form, maintain, and enhance good and healthy relationships.
We know that relationships are an essential key to building a successful business.
So, we will share some of these skills with you and hope that you will work to develop them.
Below are relationships skills that will help you build and improve your work relationships:
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills allow you to connect with people on a personal level.
It helps you to understand people’s perspectives, and show respect, and compassion.
Since relationships are centered on individuals, interpersonal skills are needed for good and healthy relationships.
Verbal Communication Skills – How to Improve Work Relationships
You need to possess strong verbal communication skills to grow and better your work relationships.
This is because oral communication is a basic requirement for building relationships.
For example, when you meet a new person, you introduce yourself by speaking.
If your verbal or oral communication skills are poor, you might make a mess out of that introduction.
In cases where you managed to do well during an introduction, there is still that tendency you would ruin things with your poor skills.
So, you need to possess strong verbal communication skills to better your relationships and form new ones.
Non-verbal Communication Skills
As verbal communication skills are important for a relationship that is how non-verbal communication skills are also important.
Non-verbal communication involves passing across your messages to people without speaking.
In other words, you pass messages to people with your body signs.
This includes your posture, eye contact, gesticulation, facial expressions, and so on.
People can read these things and guess what your emotions are.
If you give the wrong body language, you will give people the wrong idea.
Consequently, this can affect your relationships.
Strong non-verbal communication skills will ensure that this does not happen.
Empathy – How to Improve Work Relationships
Empathy is a vital key to building and improving relationships.
When you have empathy for employees, customers, suppliers, partners, etc, it means that you desire to understand what they feel.
This shows them how committed you are to that relationship.
Active Listening Skills
The act of listening attentively and demonstrating to the speaker that you are listening is called active listening.
It is mostly about getting and understanding what the speaker is saying, and ensuring that the speaker knows that you are focusing on what they are saying.
When you practice active listening it will help you to better understand the speaker and their message.
It will also make the speaker feel respected and more open to sharing their ideas, opinion, or feelings with you.
Ultimately, this helps for a better relationship between the two of you.
To actively listen well, you need to possess effective active listening skills.
Check here to discover why active listening is a crucial skill for founders and entrepreneurs.
Team-building Skills – How to Improve Work Relationships
Team-building skills are another set of vital skills needed for building and enhancing work relationships.
This is because a good percentage of work relationships are formed during team-building activities.
So, as a leader in your business, you need to encourage and practice activities that will build your team and foster better relationships among them and with you.
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to be aware of, recognize control, and express your emotions is called emotional intelligence.
Also, when you possess emotional intelligence, you understand other people’s emotions to a point.
This helps you better at handling issues that might arise in relationships.
Networking Skills – How to Improve Work Relationships
As a businessperson, you can build work relationships from networking.
You get to meet new people, exchange ideas with professionals, get help and offer help to other businesspersons.
As great as this is, you will not be able to effectively do this if you lack good networking skills.
Networking skills also help you maintain and improve your work relationships.
So, if you lack them, you should work to develop them.
Importance of Good Work Relationships – How to Improve Work Relationships
We have discussed the factors that ensure good work relationships, and we have also seen those skills that can help us do better in our work relationships.
Now, we will be looking at the importance of good work relationships.
Before now we have been hinting at some of its importance.
However, we will be looking more closely at them.
We hope that getting to know the importance of good work relationships will encourage you to do better in improving yours.
so why are good work relationships important.
For Better Collaborations
When you have good relationships with people you do business with, the chances of a good performance are often very high.
This is because there will be mutual respect and trust between you and them.
As a result, you will be both motivated to do your best, and communicate effectively.
There will be less ambiguity, and everyone involved will know what their part in that project or business venture is.
In other words, good work relationships help for better collaborations.
It Enhances Individual Productivity – How to Improve Work Relationships
Apart from working well with people with who you have good work relationships, you will also be more productive.
When you have good work relationships with people at your workplace you will be surrounded with good and positive energy.
Hence, it will instill positivity and happiness in you.
As a result, you will find yourself putting more effort into your tasks or duties.
This will make you more productive.
The same will also happen to those people who you have good relationships with.
For Better Employee Retention Rate
When you build good relationships with your employees, it will make them more loyal to your business.
If among themselves there are good relationships, then their loyalty to your business will be more.
They will readily put more effort into their work.
Their productivity rate will pick, and their work environment will be healthy.
As a result of all of these, they will hardly consider seeking employment elsewhere.
Better Creative Ideas – How to Improve Work Relationships
Good work relationships among employees and with their employers will bring about creative ideas.
In other words, when you have good work relationships with your employees, they will be more relaxed at work.
As a result, they will be able to generate better creative ideas.
They will feel free to share their ideas and know that they get the support they need.
Shared Knowledge and Skills
When you have good work relationships, you will have no issues getting good advice from those people.
You will also freely share your knowledge with them.
This way, all parties in such relationships will greatly benefit from each other.
It Can Improve One’s Health – How to Improve Work Relationships
Good relationships whether professional or personal tends to make you happier and more positive about yourself.
This in turn can help to make you more mentally and physically healthy.
In other words, good work relationships can help to improve one’s health.
Tips on How to Improve Work Relationships
We have discussed the importance of work relationships, and those factors and skills that can help you build and enhance your work relationships.
So now, we will be looking at some great tips on how to improve your work relationships.
Most of these tips require regular practice for them to be effective.
Hence, we advise you to do so.
Below are tips on how to improve work relationships:
1. Respect People’s Time
Time is an essential resource in the workplace that cannot be gotten back.
So, when someone gives you their time, you should not abuse it.
Rather, respect their time and use it well.
If you set meetings, ensure that you show up on time.
When you have to deliver something, ensure that you do so at the agreed time.
Make it a habit to do this, and people you work with will see you as someone trustworthy.
If you can respect and make good use of other people’s time, then you will be able to use other resources they have well.
This will help to foster a better relationship between you and them.
2. Offer Assistance – How to Improve Work Relationships
Several work relationships have become stronger due to assistance that one party offered to the other.
People appreciate and connect with others who help them when they are in need.
So, exploit this and improve your work relationships.
When you notice that your business partner, supplier, customer or client, or employee needs help with one thing or the other offer help.
However, when you do this, you have to be sure that you are capable of effectively offering them the help they need.
When you do this, you demonstrate to them that you are someone reliable.
As a result, they will trust you better and your relationship with them will grow stronger.
3. Communicate Clearly
As we have established, communication is an important aspect of building and improving relationships.
Its importance cannot be over-emphasized.
This is because it is what enables you to pass across your thoughts and feelings to other people.
If you cannot effectively do this, then your relationships will suffer.
As humans, we can make the mistake of assuming that people understand us when we communicate.
However, if you aim to improve your work relationships, then you have to be very careful when communicating.
This is because when communication is poor, it can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
Misunderstanding and misinterpretation can in turn lead to conflict and distrust between people and can destroy relationships.
So, to avoid this you have to ensure that your message is passed and received in the manner you intend it to be received.
To do this, you have to communicate clearly.
Understand the different rules of the different forms and means of communication, and effectively follow and use them.
When your communication is clear, you will grow stronger work relationships.
4. Fulfill Your Promises – How to Improve Work Relationships
Broken promises can destroy relationships.
Hence, when you make promises ensure that you keep them.
When you do this, the other party’s trust in you will grow.
If you know you cannot keep to a promise, then do not make it.
5. Listen to Them
People want to be listened to when they speak.
They want others to show interest in them.
When someone listens to them, it makes them drawn to such person.
So, when communicating with people, ensure you practice active listening, as it will show the speaker that you are listening.
Be open to listening to other people’s opinions and ideas.
Even if you do not agree with them, appreciate them for sharing.
When you do this often with people, it will make people trust you better.
This, in turn, will help to improve your relationships.
6. Maintain Positive Attitudes – How to Improve Work Relationships
People are attracted to positivity.
So, be a positive person and cheer people up.
Your positivity will make people you work with want to know you better.
This will help to strengthen your relationship with them.
7. Appreciate People
Everybody wants to be recognized and appreciated when they do something good.
So, make it a habit of appreciating people for their good deeds.
You do not have to get them anything.
A word of recognition can go a long way.
8. Acknowledge and Accept Your Mistakes – How to Improve Work Relationships
People do not appreciate being lied to or deceived.
They also do not like people who refuse to accept their mistakes.
So, when you make mistakes, do not hide or lie.
Rather, acknowledge and accept it.
Also, if there is a way to fix that mistake, then do that.
Coming up with a solution to your mistakes, goes a long way in winning people over.
When you do all of this, people will see that you are responsible and trustworthy.
This will make them relate to you better.
9. Avoid Gossip
Gossip has a way of destroying relationships, even work relationships.
So, you should avoid gossiping about people you work with.
When you hear something about someone, do not be quick to gossip or judge.
Rather you can walk up to those people and diplomatically talk about the issue with them.
This will make the other person respect you, and make your relationship with them stronger.
Conclusion on How to Improve Work Relationships
In life, you cannot do everything by yourself.
The same goes with running a business.
Even if you try, at one point you will need other people.
If you do not have good work relationships, then you will struggle.
So, to avoid this, you need to work to improve your work relationships.
In this article, we have shared some great tips on how to do this.
We advise you to take advantage of them.
