 Whether you work in a more or less traditional kind of office or some other type of environment You're going to develop relationships in the workplace and we're not talking necessarily about romantic relationships but Just the idea that you spend how many hours a day with these people and how many hours a week and over the course of Working career you're going to spend a lot of time with the people that you work with So it's important to recognize the different types of relationships that we have in the workplace and and and just as importantly how we can effectively communicate in the workplace so We're going to talk in this video about Communicating in the workplace and and the different things that are Relevant as we discuss and just and think about those different types of workplace relationships then So let's start with friendships and co-workers. So these are non romantic relationships You know, we're not we're not talking about getting involved with somebody in the office But we still we spend a lot of time with these people and friendships can develop or not as we'll find out here So first of all, we need to remember that we have to keep these kind of friendships in context And sometimes we are friends in the office with people and we may have friendships in the office But it's possible that those friendships may not extend outside of the office Maybe these aren't people that we hang out with on a regular basis outside of the office So it's still possible that we could have a real friendship with these people Within the office even if we never hang out with them or see them outside of the office so we need to remember that sometimes these friendships exists and they exist in a particular context and And just within the confines and context of that particular workplace We also need to remember that friendships in the in the workplace can hold tremendous value both for that individual and for the Organization and they serve a variety of functions. I'm just a couple to keep in mind for example Information exchange the great vine network is it is a tremendously valuable communication network in the in the workplace So for both professional and personal reasons, we have a lot of information exchange that happens there You get a lot of social support from your friends in the workplace Meaning just again, you're with them a lot of times Even if you're having a tough day outside of the workplace Those are people that can provide you with social support both the inside and outside of that that environment then They also provide an organizational support They can help you pick up some of the slack if you're falling behind on work or just need a hand with a project They can provide that Organizational support as well these types of friendships and relationships are Critical for newcomer assimilation for getting people oriented to the workplace not only for how things are You know it's supposed to be done. What are the rules? What are the official things that we need to talk about here, but also how are things really done then? We know that there are there are situations where yes, this is how it says to do it This is how it's actually done and this is how this thing actually works So for newcomer a newcomer assimilation both professionally and personally These friendships can be incredibly important in the workplace If we see improved performance when people have friends in the workplace and they enjoy their their coworkers And we see that there is an improved level of performance oftentimes it can increase the level of performance there We also see higher retention meaning lower turnover in employees Right that we have fewer people that are leaving the job and quitting and finding new employment people stay longer when they have friendships in the workplace So that's a tremendously valuable aspect for the employer for the organization And then finally dealing with organizational change when we have friends in the workplace when we have friends That that are going through the same thing with us. It can make organizational change This exponentially easier and smoother which has incredible Benefit and value for both in the organization and the employee So all kinds of reasons that these friendships are important and the ways that they bring values both to The organization but also to the individuals within that organization But we do see sometimes there's a deterioration and termination of friendships Right sometimes things go south in the workplace and sometimes, you know You get that feeling you just don't care for the people that you're working with So what happens when when these things deteriorate and terminate? Well, I mean there it depends on the relationship exactly what happens But but we need to be aware that that's a possibility and yet we still need to be professional with these people So we would need to find a way to to work with them and to Functionally get along with them even if we're not having that friendship anymore with them We need to find a way that we can continue to get the work done Otherwise it's going to put a strain on the organization as a whole and and potentially On the put the employment prospects for for one of us For one of the people involved there in jeopardy if we can't find a way to navigate the Deterioration and termination of a friendship in the workplace We need to bear that in mind as well as we engage in these relationships But in the long run a person I think friendships in the workplace carry much more value than than they do the rewards They're much greater than the costs usually so the but there's something that does need to be managed and carefully Cultivated and thought out before we engage in these types of things But in the end we're going to spend a lot of time with people that we work with and so Developing friendships and within the workplaces is only natural We know as well if there are other types of relationships that that exist in the workplace as well So let's take a look at some of the different types of relationships that we might have in the workplace And how they might be impacted in a variety ways here So let's first the different types of relationships that we have in the workplace you have co-workers Those would be people that exist on you know kind of a lateral basis people are at the same level of that organization as you They're there people that you work beside alongside. They're not in charge of you and you're not in charge of them So those those who are co-workers then then we also know that you probably have some superior and subordinate relationships So meaning somebody works for somebody else somebody works underneath somebody else And so you have that Dynamic as well superior and subordinates and then finally clients are another aspect of relationships in the workplace that we could Examine and should examine as we look at these types of things. So So starting with co-workers we look at three areas for each of these things three different types of relationships and three aspects of those Relationships for each of these so starting with co-workers We're going to look at social romantic and sexual harassment implications here So socially we kind of already talked about the social aspect of co-workers being friends in the workplace So we've talked about that for a moment already We're gonna skip over that one on this in this particular area romantic relationships though for co-workers in the workplace can be Another aspect again. We spend a lot of time at work. It's not uncommon or unnatural or unthinkable for us to Develop romantic relationships in the workplace when we spend so much time with people there That does not mean again that all relationships in the workplace are romantic But we we can develop those relationships with co-workers then so there's some considerations that we need to have in Mind first of all again that we need to be thinking about okay. What if this doesn't work out? How is it going to look for us? In terms of deterioration determination or determination if the relationship doesn't go the distance what implications could that have? what implications does it have in the workplace for us in terms of how we treat each other do we need to set some boundaries in terms of You know what is appropriate and not appropriate in the workplace for us in terms of how we talk to each other how we Use nonverbal communication and even touch in the really in the in the workplace. So are there limitations there? There's our organization have some sort of guidelines or rules about romantic relationships in the workplace And you'll find that many modern organizations do We need to be aware of those am I supposed to be reporting this relationship to somebody? Is there's there's gonna need to be some official acknowledgement of that? So those are all different types of things we need to keep in mind when it comes to romantic relationships with co-workers But again, it's something that's very possibly going to happen We know that proximity is an important aspect in developing relationship or consideration in developing relationship And so when we spend so much time in an enclosed area with with these people It's only natural that romantic relationships could potentially develop in those situations We do also need to be aware though of sexual harassment and conscious of sexual harassment with our co-workers, of course and This determining again what isn't what is what is not appropriate? And and that will depend on each relationship that you have with these people so we need to err on the side of caution though, obviously and and just be aware of Sexual harassment the potential for something to be viewed and remember that sexual harassment Really exists in the view and in the eye of the beholder so to speak It's not about whether you think a joke is offensive or a comment is offensive or or it's appropriate to touch a person in a particular way It's a matter of whether they feel like it's appropriate if it makes them uncomfortable in any way then that that could potentially be harassment Whether it's sexual or otherwise Could be harassment and it doesn't even have to be directly to the other person It could be somebody who just happens to be what we call a bystander, right? So you and another person are sharing a joke in the office and the person in the at the desk next to you finds it offensive They're not even involved in that conversation But that's still harassment if it if they're an earshot and it affects them then that's harassment So we need to bear all of this in mind as we as we consider our relationships with all of our co-workers then Things also look differently for when you have a relationship between a superior and a subordinate. There may be different Of different feel for that relationship socially It may be awkward to invite your boss to an after-hours party or out to drinks that you're having with co-workers or something Because that power dynamic is different. So socially there may be a different dynamic a different feel between superiors and subordinates right Romantically certainly there's another that's another layer to consider not only have all the usual workplace romance considerations of Okay, what does this look like inside the workplace? What does this look like outside of the workplace? How do we manage those things? What is our organizational policy on these types of things? But then now you have again that power dynamic and the question of how does this affect the way a supervisor? Relates to a subordinate or vice versa. What can a person get away with? Well, how is that going to be viewed by your co-workers when you have somebody dating and again? There may be a whole different set of policies in your workplace surrounding if and how Superiors and subordinates should engage in romantic relationships And then in sexual harassment a totally different thing when you when you have that power dynamic then because you have one person Who has more power than the other in that situation? You know sexual harassment. It's a lot trickier and and and can be viewed Perceived anyway is a lot more prevalent in those situations. You know comments may be Interpreted differently the same comment from a co-worker may be taken differently if it's a super it's your supervisor making that comment So we need to consider all of these things when we think about our relationship both either as the subordinate or as the superior that's going to take on different looks and and but both important Aspects for viewpoints and things to consider Then finally all the same considerations for relationships with clients You know, what is appropriate socially for for somebody you work with and somebody your client somebody's a client of your organization What is appropriate social interaction? Is it and is it appropriate for there to be a romantic connection? If so, what is that level of appropriateness and how does it come about and then also, you know Sexual harassment in either direction is another issue as well So we need to consider all these aspects for all these different Relationships and keep these things in mind as we think about those relationships in the workplace So we're going to spend a lot of time in our workplace and it's totally natural for us to develop relationships in these areas Whether they're friendships or romantic relationships or any kind of relationships like that It's a totally natural byproduct of spending so much time with with these other people But we do need to have in mind that there are separate implications for this in the workplace and and and just how we're Going to manage those things and how they might be different than relationships that exist outside of the workplace If you have questions about communicating in the workplace and especially as it relates to interpersonal Relationships in the workplace, please feel free to email me I would love to hear from you there and and engage in that conversation in that way otherwise, I hope that you will continue to give a great consideration to the implications of communicating in The workplace as they relate to these interpersonal relationships Spend a lot of time with these people and these relationships deserve just as much attention and care as any other relationship in our lives