Positive Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Positive Interpersonal Relationships and Occupational Thriving

Positive Psychology and specifically some of the work of Dr. Martin Seligman has focused on the role and benefits of positive interpersonal relationships. Williams (2018) explored how positive interpersonal relationships contribute to psychological well-being and occupational thriving, specifically the underlying components of work engagement and work effectiveness. Our interest in positive interpersonal relationships is rooted in the idea that we believe work can be fun, meaningful, and productive.

Harter (2003) suggest that workers who experience positive emotions at work have the tendency to be happier and more productive in their work. For some, this is a daily lived experience. For others, work may be riddled with relationships that leave you feeling burned out and frustrated (Pinkser, Nepps, Redfiled, & Winston, 1985).

Wherever you land on the continuum of positive relationships at work, our research continues to indicate that focusing on enhancing the positive interpersonal relationships in your professional and personal life contribute to your ability to thrive at work.

What can I do to build Positive Interpersonal Relationships at Work?

Assess for psychological safety; then open up. Positive work relationships are cultivated in psychologically safe environments. Assessing whether you feel psychologically safe is a critical first step in determining when and where to be vulnerable with colleagues. Dr. Amy Edmundson recommends that developing clear ground rules for team interaction, consistent sharing of information, and mutual respect are all indicators of a psychologically safe environment.

After a worker assesses that they are in a psychologically safe work environment, an additional step toward enhancing those positive interpersonal relationships would be to engage with team members and open up a consistent pattern of respectful communication. This may be through appropriate informal affirmations or formal acknowledgement of a team member’s work. Ultimately, opening up and communicating demonstrates interest and fidelity.

Express Gratitude. There are many benefits of expressing gratitude. According to Smith (2013), the University of California-Berkeley developed creative ways for employees to express gratitude by creating appreciation platforms and “kudos” web pages. Expressing gratitude continues to demonstrate the power of verbalizing the impact that others have made in the work environment. The hope of expressing gratitude is that it raises ongoing awareness, acknowledgement, and vulnerability, which contributes to enhancing the positive interpersonal connection in the work environment.

Laugh Together. Humor, laughter, productivity, and job satisfaction are interconnected (Robert & da Motta Veiga, 2017). Humor and laughter serve as critical components of building positive relationships. Laughing with coworkers can be cathartic and a deeply enjoyable way to reduce stress and build cohesion (Heggie, 2018). This can be challenge for some considering the work environment. The sentiment is to find ways to enjoy teammates, raise the energy level when appropriate, and remember that laughter is interconnected with productivity and job satisfaction.

Shared Experiences. Having shared emotional experiences with teammates has been a valuable component of developing positive work relationships. These meaningful moments have the capability of enhancing team cohesion and performance. For example, many of my work relationships in the military were forged in austere environments. These moments have been in training, combat, and informal social gatherings. The majority have been during training environments that helped our team develop positive relationships and establish psychological safety and trust. In my experience, the leaders who consistently made time for these types of events got the most out of their team and organization.

How we help teams and organizations build cohesion and positive interpersonal relationships.

Our team at Legacy believes that building team cohesion and positive interpersonal relationships through experience is important. We do this by integrating military leadership experience, psychological principles, and social-scientific research to facilitate team building activities with our clients. We believe these shared experiences have the capability of enhancing cohesion and performance. If you are interested in hiring our team to help create a meaningful experience with your team, contact us today.

Up next, Blog 6. We will begin a series that highlights some of our Workshops and Keynote Speaking topics. “Follow Me: 5 Reasons why they will and 1 reason why they wont”

References:

Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness, and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55, 34–43.

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383. doi:10.2307/2666999.

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L. & Keyes, C. L. M. (2003). Well-being in the Workplace and its Relationship to Business Outcomes: A Review of the Gallup Studies. Washington, D. C: American Psychological Association.

Heggie, B.A. (2018, November 16). The benefits of laughing in the office. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/11/the-benefits-of-laughing-in-the-office

Pinsker, H., Nepps, P., Redfield, J., & Winston, A. (1985). Applicants for short-term dynamic psychotherapy. In A. Winston (Ed.), Clinical and research issues in short-term dynamic psychotherapy (pp. 104–116). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Porath, C., Spreitzer, G., Gibson, C., & Garnett, F. G. (2012). Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 250-275.

Robert, C., & da Motta Veiga, S. P. (2017). Conversational humor and job satisfaction at work: exploring the role of humor production, appreciation, and positive affect, HUMOR, 30(4), 417-438. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0034

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York, NY: Free Press.

Smith, J.A. (2013, May 16). Five ways to cultivate gratitude at work. Greater Good Magazine.https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_to_cultivate_gratitude_at_work

Dr. Cedric Williams

Founder + CEO

Legacy Consulting & Research Group LLC