Published to Newsletter on Feb 28, 2024
This month, EOD looks at building relationships in your workplace.
March 1 is National Employee Appreciation Day and here are EOD we’ve been thinking a great deal about employee engagement as we begin the second year of the UNM Employee Engagement Survey.
What does engagement mean? In the context of the survey, employee engagement is defined as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their workplace and about the work they do. We’ve found that a big part of that is our workplace relationships. (We’ve heard and seen quite a bit of discussion about Q10: I Have a Best Friend at Work.)
The fact is most of us have a basic need for positive relationships in our workplace. Research in the book Vital Friends sound that people with three work friends were 96 percent more likely to say they felt “extremely satisfied” with their lives.
So how can we build connections at work? As an employee, make a goal to reach out regularly to one or two colleagues once a month. Start with National Employee Appreciation Day and let them know how much you appreciate their collaboration. If you are a manager or supervisor, develop a recognition program or build in social time during work hours, especially with remote workers, to give chances to talk.
Be fully present when talking to your colleagues. Put away distractions and don’t multitask. Give your undivided attention. These are trust-eroding behaviors and few things are more damaging in modern-day relationships than not paying attention to each other.
We have two great workshops this month to help build trust and create a psychologically safe workplace. We invite you attend these and learn more about building strong relationships in your workplace.
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