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Resolve to Get Along Better with Your Co-Workers Next Year!

You most likely spend more time with people at work than with anyone else, including your spouse and your friends. When you have a solid relationship with your coworkers, it makes the workday.

If you’re looking to get along better with your coworkers to improve your daily life at work, consider these suggestions.

Empathize with other people and their situations

Most people can think of one or two coworkers that annoy them on a regular basis. Unfortunately, you can’t control someone else and make them stop doing the things that annoy you. You can, however, change how you react to that behavior.

Dealing with someone else’s annoying behavior is easier if you can see where they are coming from. Try to find out why that person is acting the way they are by talking with them. You may find out that they are feeling a lot of pressure in their job or they have a stressful situation outside of work.

For instance, it might be easier to put up with someone’s short temper if you know they have a newborn at home who doesn’t sleep through the night.

Focus on working together

Some people completely dismiss coworkers who annoy them. Others bend over backwards to appease coworkers that bother them. The common problem with both of these approaches is they perpetuate a cycle of bad communication.

Instead, you should be approaching an annoying coworker by addressing your shared concerns. Try to figure out the source of friction, talk about what the problems are and go over potential solutions. For example, if someone doesn’t like your way of doing a task, ask for constructive feedback and discuss the best way to move forward, possibly with a joint solution.

If you like to avoid confrontation, going this route may feel uncomfortable at first. However, effective communication is essential to a healthy relationship and that means being honest about any issues that pop up between you.

Establish healthy boundaries

Some people say ‘yes’ to everything because they want to avoid conflict, or they are too eager to please others. When you say ‘yes’ to every issue your coworkers bring to you, you are setting yourself up for a lot of stress and frustration.

Establishing solid boundaries is an effective way to keep your sanity, allowing you to have healthier relationships with those around you. Setting boundaries means you must be proactive about communicating your availability. For instance, if you have to go to your child’s school play in the evening, you should let your coworkers know you can’t stay late.

Keep in mind: Every good relationship requires some give-and-take. It’s important that you maintain a healthy balance between “giving” and “taking”.

At Career Concepts, we keep in touch with our contract workers after they have been placed to ensure they are thriving in their position. If you are currently looking to work for a staffing company that is committed to looking out for your best interest, please contact us today.

Blog published date

Jan 04, 2018
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