Workplace pressures can make it difficult for you to get to know your coworkers. However, in order to create a more positive working environment, it is essential that you and your colleagues strengthen your relationships and put in the effort to learn more about each other. When you know more about a person, it allows you to understand them and how they work, which is extremely beneficial in work scenarios. Keep reading to discover tips to better connect with your coworkers.
Why should you get to know your coworkers?
Getting to know your coworkers is essential for your well-being as well as for the success of the company you work for. When you have a positive relationship with colleagues, you feel more comfortable in the workplace, which in turn can boost your productivity and even improve your career prospects. Below are key reasons why you should get to know your coworkers.
Improves communication
Once you know your coworkers better, you become more comfortable in their presence, which allows you to interact with them more efficiently. Communication can be difficult when you don’t know someone. This can hinder your ability to effectively communicate with colleagues and lead to problems such as a lack of productivity, poor work quality, and arguments.
Thankfully, when you get to know the people you work with, you begin to understand more about them and how they operate. This can help you identify their communication style, and increase employee engagement.
Better working environment
Creating a positive working environment is the key to a happy workforce and a successful business. After all, for employees to be enthusiastic about coming to work every day, they need to be in an environment where they know their colleagues and feel comfortable with them.
Improves your job prospects
Most people fail to consider the correlation between getting to know their coworkers and their personal job prospects. When you get to know your colleagues, you become part of a symbiotic relationship. This, in turn, makes you more comfortable about asking for help and building off the strengths of your colleagues. You can leverage the things you learn from coworkers to develop your career path.
Get to know your coworkers with an icebreaker activity
What questions to ask to get to know your coworkers
Getting the ball rolling with conversation starters is the most difficult part of getting to know someone. The good news is that there are lots of questions that can help you break the ice. Here are a few:
- Do you have any hobbies?
- What is your dream job?
- What are you passionate about?
- What’s your favorite TV show?
- Who’s your favorite musical artist?
- What was your first job?
- What led you to this career?
4 ways to get to know your coworkers better
Although fun questions are a great first step to getting to know your coworkers, there are fun activities that you can participate in to build relationships with coworkers. Below are some of them.
Organize icebreaker activities
If your company organizes icebreaker activities, be sure to attend them as they can be a great way to get to know your coworkers. Kronos Experience’s Safari Cocktail is an icebreaker activity that is designed to spark conversations with colleagues in a relaxed and fun setting.
Icebreaker activities are ideal for those who struggle with initial interactions, as it removes the pressure to come up with conversation starters. These activities are pre-planned and direct you towards opening up to coworkers, thereby paving the way to better workplace relationships.
Meet outside the office
If you want to really get to know your coworkers, you should meet outside of the office. Most people separate their work selves from their personal selves. When you meet elsewhere, you are in a more neutral environment, which allows you to feel more relaxed and get to know each other on a more personal level.
Below are some venues that are perfectly suited to promote social interaction between colleagues:
- Coffee shops
- Bars
- Restaurants
- Bowling alleys
- Museums
- Parks
- Etc.
Team-building activities
If you have been working somewhere for some time, and still don’t feel as though you know your coworkers very well, team-building activities are a great way to strengthen your workplace relationships. These can come in a variety of formats, from traditional team-building excursions, to scavenger hunts and virtual activities for remote teams. Whatever format you choose, such undertakings are sure to help you better understand how your colleagues think and approach challenges.
Office quizzes
Hosting regular office quizzes is a fun and simple way to learn more about your co-workers. You can choose a different theme each week, and have your employees come up with questions. These questions will enable you to slowly understand what everyone’s hobbies and interests are. You’ll be able to pick out the movie buffs and the sports enthusiasts.
Team-building services
At Kronos Experience, we understand how important it is to develop work relationships which is why we are here to help you organize team-building and icebreaker activities. Our newest ice-breaker activity, the Safari Cocktail, is extremely easy to coordinate as participants only need their mobile phone to join. During the activity, participants complete a series of challenges that are designed to help everyone get to know each other better. This innovative activity leverages augmented reality in order to create an exciting and interactive experience that can be enjoyed by any number of participants.