You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your colleagues. Yet you need them in more ways than one.
First, you need their goodwill and cooperation in order to perform your own job well.
Second, studies find that disagreements with colleagues and bad working relationships deflate morale and impair performance even more than rumours of redundancies.
And third, if you're like most people, you spend more walking hours at work than anywhere else.
Reaching out to your colleagues - or extending an olive branch, if need be - can make your work environment a much nicer place in which to spend many hours a day.
You don't have to be friends with your colleagues, but you do need to be friendly.
-- Say a cheery 'Hello!' in the morning.
-- Learn the art of small talk.
-- Accept good-natured teasing.
-- Ask what they think.
-- Avoid gossip.
-- When dealing with a difficult colleague, pretend your children are watching.
-- Ladle out the compliments.
-- Spread your good cheer.
-- Return calls and emails promptly.
-- Give credit where credit is due.
-- Here's one for the boss
-- Always be on time
-- Express your good ideas
-- Talk about your life outside the office when it's appropriate.
-- Assume the positive about what you don't know.
Read on (the full post) for fresh ways to make work a happier place to be.
