Workplace values, like friendship, are an essential aspect of any work environment. Whether you work from home or need to be in an office, employees need to adhere to certain unspoken standards of work ethics.
In other words, workplace values can be considered as a set of guiding principles that will help to shape the way you and your colleagues work together. When specific values are shared to be expected in order to work together in a professional setting, fewer misunderstandings will occur.
A happier, more cohesive and understanding environment will grow out of such a nurturing environment. And that’s got to be a win-win situation for everyone.
With all that being said, what are some of these workplace values that can help to improve the overall quality of your work environment?
In this article, you will be able to find out more about the workplace value of friendship and 3 ways you can practice friendship at your office.
What is friendship?
Sure, you and I know what the term generally asks of anyone in a social setting. However, what exactly does it mean?
According to Lexico.com, friendship refers to “the state of being friends”. It has also been referred to as the “emotions or conduct of friends”.
When placed into the context of a working environment, friendship can take on many forms at the workplace. As with any workplace value, we use friendship as a guiding principle to help us make better decisions as a colleague, and more importantly, as an individual.
How then we can apply it at the workplace? Read on to find out 🙂
How to practice friendship at the office?
Practicing the workplace value of friendship at the office doesn’t actually call for much effort! Meaning to say, that it does not need to be big or outlandish gestures.
We practice friendship through the simple, and daily acts of our everyday lifestyle. As such, here are 3 steps you can take to start practicing friendship within your own office space.
Set clear boundaries
Setting clear boundaries is one of the first steps you can take to practice friendship at the workplace. Remember that boundaries are important to demarcate between personal and professional relationships. When at work, the crossing of these lines can happen easily.
As such, it is important that colleagues set a clear distinction in their interactions when at the office and when outside. This can get tricky but there are a few tips out there that can help many!
Pay attention to any changes in your relationships at work that signal it’s growing to become a distraction from your responsibilities. Similarly, when friendships cross hierarchical levels at the office, ensure you know your limits when addressing them at work.
Be careful in your interactions so that you don’t come off as leveraging off, or playing favourites with friends at work. And so, setting clear boundaries between personal and professional relations is one way to foster the workplace value of friendship!
Say no to gossips
One can also foster friendship at the workplace simply by keeping gossips and its likes at bay! Oftentimes, an individual struggles to find his or her footing at work when a colleagues appears with gossip about another.
This person may be your teammate on one or numerous projects. However, the colleague who comes to you may be someone who helps you out with tasks every now and then too. If the latter comes to you with some form of gossip, what can you do?
Don’t let them continue with what they came to say! Tell them you’re uncomfortable listening to such things and that you’d prefer respecting their private space. After all, you all share the same work space!
Hearing things from outside and keeping them in one’s mind can affect the way you view this particular co-worker. Subsequently, it can also affect how you work with them on a collaborative project. Friendships falter when gossips and lies enter the picture.
So, saying no to gossips is one way to further foster the workplace value of friendship!
Avoid forming and being a part of cliques
The third, but perhaps, the most effective way you can practise the workplace value of friendship is by avoiding forming and being a part of cliques. Cliques are those close-knit groups that don’t include everyone in their interactions. Instead, these groups actively try to exclude others from being a part of their social circle.
Ensure that you or your colleagues don’t start or join a clique at work. These groups of ‘friendships’ can be extremely detrimental to one’s workplace culture. Instead, treat everyone equally.
Whether or not you and another colleague work on a project together, see them as equals! Treat them like you would any other co-worker too. This is important to nurturing friendships at work.
Perhaps, the golden rule is one that can help to put things into perspective in this case too! That is, to treat others how you would wish to be treated. You wouldn’t appreciate being excluded from social meetings, right?
Treat everyone the same way and you’d be practicing the workplace value of friendship in no time!
What's next?
And there you have it – a piece on an absolutely critical workplace value of friendship. We hope the information in this article has helped you get a clearer idea of how you can better practice friendship at the workplace.
Instilling workplace values, like the above, at your office can rake in numerous benefits for every employee. Remember, a little effort can go a long way to ensure a happy and successful workplace for everyone!
Keep a lookout for other workplace values we will be discussing as part of this series soon! Searching for a new workplace that practices these workplace values? On the hunt for a new job?
If you’re on the lookout for jobs within other industries that are nonetheless located in Singapore, here’s an article that shares with you the top 19 job portals in Singapore.
No matter the industry or the position, remember to visit GrabJobs to find a job opportunity in Singapore easil
