How to Get Along Better With Coworkers

How to Get Along Better With Coworkers Image via unsplash.com 1. Have a solid foundation of respect Regardless of how close or distant you are with your coworker, you need to respect one another in order to be productive in the workplace and in your relationships. There are countless ways of being respectful in the workplace, including: Completing your own workload and not slacking. Who wants a coworker that slacks and makes everyone else make up for their lack of productivity and initiative? No one. Make sure you are doing your job, as leaving your duties to other coworkers is disrespectful and unproductive. Recognize personal space, boundaries, and belongings. If each coworker has their own cubicle, you dont want to needlessly intrude for things that arent work-related just to keep them from their own work. Or, if they have their personal belongings like food in a shared space, do not feel free to help yourself. Listening to them when they say no after you display certain behavior or discuss a certain topic. You may think nothing of asking a certain question, but to someone else, it can be seen invasive or on a topic that is traumatic to them. Respect when a coworker asks you not bring something up again, or not to a certain action again. Treat your coworkers how you would like to be treated, and remember that at the end of the day, you are all at the workplace to complete a job. 2. Dont partake in toxic behavior   Your efforts in getting along with your coworkers can easily be ruined when you do something to offend your coworkers, even if you believe you are doing little to no harm. Toxic behavior can be something as small as letting something offensive slip to spreading around a secret/rumor that you have no right to be spreading. Here are some examples of what you should back from doing in the workplace: Bringing up controversial topics. While you may want to be converse freely with your coworkers, try to steer clear of controversial topics like religion and politics in your daily discussions as they can bring up unwarranted debates and can have some coworkers avoiding each other to conflicting beliefs they did not know about previously. Spreading rumors or secrets. Its human to want to be well-liked by others, but you should not put others in harms way as a result. If a coworker tells you something during a venting session, they certainly will not expect you to turn around and say it to someone else. Do not use good information for your own social gains. Not only can it make coworkers trust you less, but it can also get you fired if it escalates. Exclude anyone for no reason. Although cliques may come out of a workplace almost naturally, do not take part in purposely excluding a coworker or two for no reason just to fit in with others. Just imagine if you were the one being excluded, you definitely do not want to be the one behind making someone feel that way. 2. Dont rush a relationship Relationships do not bloom overnight, and this is especially true with workplace relationships. You are at work to work, and of course, you would want to make being at work more pleasant by getting along with your coworkers. Dont be disappointed when you arent invited to join a coworker every time lunch rolls around, or if a coworker says no to an invitation to dinner after work. Start out slow be friendly to the coworkers you interact with and even if you do not have time to have a full-blown conversation in passing, acknowledge them with a greeting or smile. If you are heading out to lunch at the same time, try taking initiative and asking them to join you for lunch. If they say no, respectfully carry on your own way without bugging them to change their mind because maybe they really needed alone time or arent comfortable enough yet. Spending so much of your time at work can be seen as a bummer, but getting along with your coworker can improve how you feel about coming into work every day.