How important is it to get along with your colleagues for a successful career?
Building great work relationships makes your daily work more enjoyable, less monotonous, and you will ultimately be more productive. It is a known fact that once we start our professional lives, we spend a major part of the day at the workplace, with our colleagues. Therefore, it is important to get along with your colleagues for a successful career.
Human beings are naturally social creatures—we crave friendship and positive interactions, just as we do food and water. So, it makes sense that the better our relationships are at work, the happier and more productive we're going to be.
You have people to chat with when you need a break, know who to sit next to in a meeting, and have automatic lunch plans when you want them. Work just feels more fun when you know you have some friends by your side, especially if you have a high-stress job. Reaching the top is not always a job that one needs to do alone. There are other ways. Here are some ways to get along with your colleagues for a successful career.
Makes work more enjoyable
You will feel a lot less bored with your work and the daily routine if you have someone to talk to during your coffee breaks. You can find coworkers with mutual interests and discuss the last football match, or a new movie with them. Or, you can explore their interests and talk about what kind of music they listen to, or what are their hobbies. This will take your mind off work, even though temporarily, and you will feel a lot fresher when you get back to your tasks.
Better communication
Being friendly with your colleagues will gradually develop into a form of better communication overall. You will be able to communicate well with them on all professional matters. Even if there comes a time when you need to have a difficult conversation with any one of them, you will be able to handle it well because you have both often spoken to each other, understand the psyche of each other, and, to some extent, know how the person will react to a certain situation. Better communication will ensure that you will get along with your colleagues for a successful career.
Building trust
Having good relations with your coworkers also helps in building trust between all of you. They will believe your word and take you for your face value. Having good trust among colleagues is important for every professional in the long run. You will be able to trust them with new work or additional work if you need to delegate at any point of time. They will be able to trust you with their secrets, with changes in the company, and anything else.
Mutual respect
Respect for all your colleagues and each other is important at a workplace, and this can only be achieved if you get along well with your coworkers. That can be possible only when you communicate and be affable with the other people who work with you in the organization. Mutual respect will ensure that colleagues like you back, and you can get along with your colleagues for a successful career.
People will agree with you more often
If you get along well with your coworkers, they tend to agree with your plans and suggestions more often. And if you are someone who goes to the office every day, finishes work and leaves, without talking to anyone, your coworkers will have no idea what kind of a person you are—with work, or otherwise. If you interact with them regularly, they will be able to gauge your personality and will hence, understand your points more clearly when you bring them up in a meeting.
People will be more adaptable to change
If you are on good terms with colleagues, they will listen to you if you talk to them about some changes in the organizational strategy, a change in the company goals or vision, and will be more willing to accept the change and will be more adaptable to this change.
There will be more opportunities to grow
Being on good terms with your colleagues will give you a lot more freedom to work than you can imagine. You will easily be able to take on new opportunities and challenge yourself with new work on a daily basis, to better yourself and to make progress in your career.
No stress
To get along with your colleagues for a successful career, it is important that you are on good terms with them. It is important to destress during and after a hard day's work at the office. If you are friends with some of your coworkers, you can step out to grab a meal or watch a movie or catch a gig together. You can go for drinks and dinner after office. You can discuss work, your personal life (to an extent), and your hobbies and interests with them while you are all hanging out together. This will help you relax—both physically and mentally after a tough day at work.
Better health
The more social you are at work and the stronger your relationships are with your colleagues, the better it is for your health. Researchers found correlations between high social identification at work and for both physical and psychological health. Since you can destress with these colleagues, it has a positive effect on your mental health. You can play some sport with your colleagues, either in the office if your workspace has the provision, or outside before or after work, making your physical health better.
Helping hand
If you are on good terms with your colleagues, you will be assured that there will be a helping hand available for you at all times. If there comes a day when you are swamped with work, you will be able to ask them to help you out, and not feel awkward about it. This works both ways. Even when your coworker needs any help from you, you will be available to help them out with their work so that you can both finish on time and meet the deadlines or targets.
These are some ways to get along with your colleagues for a successful career.