Ways To Be A Better Co-Worker

Caring for your co-workers is really important for your office life.

Here are some suggestions on caring for your fellow colleagues 

1. When dealing with a difficult co-worker, pretend your children are watching. This simple visualization technique will help you to keep a cool head. After all, you’ve taught your children to have good manners. With them “watching,” it will be difficult to stoop to the level of your infuriating co-worker.

2. Ladle out the compliments. Did Tom fix the office photocopier – again? Has Ann stopped smoking? By all means, compliment your co-workers on their achievements – personal or professional. Too often, we focus on what people are doing wrong.

3. Spread your good cheer. You don’t have to be a Pollyanna, but try to perform one kindly act a week, choosing a different co-worker each time. For example, one week you might bring in muffins for no reason. Another week, it might be a card for a co-worker – maybe a thank-you note for helping you out the week before, or a light, humorous card for a co-worker who seems to be a bit down.

4. Return calls and e-mails promptly. To win friends at work, a good place to start is good office etiquette. There’s nothing more frustrating to busy people than to have their e-mails and phone messages ignored. Your silence doesn’t just make their job harder to do; it also conveys an unpleasant message to them: you’re unimportant to me.

5. Give credit where credit is due. Don’t withhold credit from deserving co-workers. You’ll alienate them, and they won’t be there for you when you need them (or when they all go out for lunch). Embrace the attitude that we all win together, and let others know when someone has done something above and beyond the call of duty on a project. Also, if someone incorrectly gives you credit and praise, acknowledge your co-worker who does deserve the accolades. It will be remembered.