Employee Relationships: They’re More Valuable Than You Ever Imagined

What really keeps good employees happy at work?

Money? The right compensation might keep them on the payroll, but it won’t actually make them happy. Flexibility? Sure, everyone wants that these days. But it’s not the end-all.

Happiness comes from employee relationships. And when employees are happy, they’re engaged, satisfied and productive.

Simply put, they’re all in.

So quality employee relationships are a critical element in any workplace these days.

Research Proves Value Of Relationships

Employees with strong bonds to those they work with are usually the most engaged and tend to stay longer at companies they work for, according to a research analysis in Positive Psychology.

But many managers don’t realize the boost their own departments and businesses get when employees are happy to work with each other.

Specifically:

• When employees cooperate, trust and respect each other, they inspire each other to better performance, the Positive Psychology report found
• Positive social interactions improve physical health and promote better workplace well-being
• Employees with best friends at work are less likely to quit and are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and the company, according to Gallup research.

Set the Tone

As a leader within your company, you set the tone for how employees interact. So if you encourage workplace friendships and camaraderie, it will filter down.

If you feel you want to do more to encourage good workplace relationships, here are five ideas:

1. Get To Know Employees on a Personal Level

Learn a little something about employees’ families, past work experiences, hobbies or interests. It will come in handy when you know of other employees with things in common.

Most good managers already do this, but they don’t take the next step to help forge connections among their team members.

For example, if you know a new employee is a wine collector or an avid fly-fisherman or lives in a certain school district, introduce that employee to others who might share that connection.

This shows employees that you understand they have lives outside of the office and can feel free to open up. It also helps break the ice, which makes new employees more relaxed.

2. Create Connection Points with Career Experiences

Situate employees with similar professional backgrounds together when possible. It helps employees play to their own strengths and encourages them to use their particular expertise around someone else who “gets it.”

For example, if you know that three of your employees have a marketing background, you can suggest they work together as a team on marketing components of a project.

This helps employees share background experiences and come to appreciate each others’ skills.

3. Be a Social Director Sometimes

You don’t have to go overboard; employees who feel their managers insist on forced socialization can come to dread it.

But make sure your team gets opportunities to socialize informally from time to time.

Depending on the size of your group and your line of work, tailor some social events around what suits you the most. For some, it might be an occasional happy-hour gathering, an in-house spirit-building session, a work site picnic or even a monthly birthday celebration. Throw in some fun games and prizes, and make an effort to pair different people up each time.

4. Remind Other Leaders to Build Ties

Employee relationship-building can’t just come from top management. If you oversee a group of supervisors, encourage them to foster relationships with and between their team members.

Otherwise, you could have half of your team not benefitting from positive relationships with their co-workers.

Let your supervisors in on the upsides of encouraging workplace camaraderie, and include them in plans for getting employees to socialize and feel more comfortable with each other.

5. Check Your Feedback System

Many managers like to see an honest back-and-forth among their employees but are reluctant to enter the conversation themselves.

But the underlying tool that’s absolutely necessary for encouraging employee relationships is the manager’s willingness to spark honest communication.

In a work environment that stifles it, employees won’t feel free to be open and honest with each other (or with you, their boss).

So make sure your employees are aware of your open-door policy and don’t be shy about letting your team see you communicate freely with them.

Applaud employees when they put their heads together to come up with ideas and get creative without your prompting.

Knowing you’ll listen makes them more likely to do it, which makes working together that much more pleasant.

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• Leadership & Strategy