How you come across at work has a pretty powerful influence on your organization whether or not you realize it. They people you interact with, especially staff members you work with regularly, are affected by the way you treat them, including your responses to their questions, the feedback you give them and empathy you show towards them.
Being callous, miserable or self-centered won’t help your popularity around the office and will likely damage your professional reputation. No one wants to work with the office grump, whiner, gossiper, complainer—the list goes on. Don’t let a negative trait you might have completely define your office persona. Try to incorporate these tips into your workday to have a more positive influence on your organization:
Be Polite
Choosing to use words like “please” and “thank you” will improve your workplace reputation. Giving your coworkers respect, whether it’s with their time, ideas or feelings, will help you win the same treatment from them. Be nice when you can and try to always help an employee who is truly in need.
Think on it
People have a tendency to talk before they think. With today’s technological advances, talking before you think turns into emailing, tweeting, calling or blogging. If an employee has made you upset or folks didn’t want to use your idea for a project, don’t retaliate by immediately firing off a response to their actions. Because of your emotions, you might not realize the tone you’re conveying. Think your thoughts through and how your words will affect the receiver and your place at the company.
Ask for Help
Asking for assistance from colleagues is a simple and expected workplace occurrence. Unfortunately, some employees would rather miss their deadlines, give poor excuses or blame others before admitting that they can’t do everything by themselves. Complete your work, and if you need extra assistance for a project, swallow your pride and ask. If employees are constantly seeking assistance, they should talk to their managers about adjusting their workload.
Recognize Effort
Improve your workplace relationships by recognizing the contributions each one of your team members makes to the organization. Appreciate the effort and time your employees spend delivering results for your company. By acknowledging their hard work, you will likely gain their trust and commitment to keep up their great job performance.
