The workplace is one of the most common places for conflicts. Considering the workplace situation, employees establish a kind of relationship among each other that keeps a diplomatic approach but usually does not go beyond personal level, though there are other relationships that develop into a deeper stage. Employees have to socialize with their coworkers because people in the workplace work collaboratively.
Each individual and department does not have their own rules and goals. Everyone works and takes an effort to achieve a common goal for the benefit of the organization. Office departments are interrelated in their functions. Even the management and the employees need to work hand in hand when working on a big project, for example.
You may have obviously heard of the term ‘office politics.’ This is a workplace situation where diverse and unique personalities as well as behaviors result to an uncomfortable environment in the office. The concept of ‘office politics’ refers to any behavior and process that are deemed inappropriate and unfavorable for the organization. They say that in order to survive, we must learn how to ‘go with the flow’ or ‘play the game.’
However, tolerating such condition in the workplace is not healthy for the welfare of the employees. Instead of putting up with ‘office politics’ or any undesirable situation, keeping a good and harmonious working relationship is a lot more advantageous. If your organization is going through a discordant atmosphere, it is high time to learn and apply the ways to maintain harmony in the workplace.
Refrain from Office Gossip
Office gossip never results to anything positive toward the organization and the individuals. It is, in fact, one of the ultimate destroyers of harmony in the workplace because it destroys trust among the people. Paying attention to gossips is no different than spreading it. This is because when you listen to gossips, it will retain in your head and affects your view of the person negatively.
If your colleagues start to engage themselves in rumors, refrain from getting involved in the tittle-tattle. Better yet, you can redirect the subject to a current work situation or other areas of interest, anything that does not highlight fellow working individuals.
Make an Effort to Adhere to Company Policy
Ground rules are established to keep an organization guided and controlled. At times, we feel that certain rules are choking us to the neck. This may be grounds for emerging conflicts between employees and the management. Whenever an individual feels that there are inconsistencies and irrationalities in the workplace, tendency is the person struggles to break free from such process.
For employees, it may take an effort to really understand that setting such rules is a way of maintaining standards in the company. But this should be well-implemented and properly disseminated by the management in a way that will not seem like a threat to the individuals.
Keep a Cordial Relationship with your Colleagues
Just as this article initially tells us that working individuals create a kind of social and diplomatic connection with each other, keeping such affiliation professional and at the same time a cordial one is essential in building a harmonious atmosphere. Personal attack on an individual on work performance is discouraged and must be avoided.
If someone in the team or the person you are working with lacks competence in the job, learn to understand the person’s weakness. Instead of putting the person down, attempt to help the individual realize the weak points and improve himself. A disparaging attitude toward another individual may develop conflict.
It is the same thing when you are working with a team. In order to keep the team members working together, each member should not expect too much from each other and know that we all have our own differences. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we have to respect these diversities. If ever a team fails in reaching the goal, blaming is not an option because nothing good will come out of it.
The abovementioned tips are just some of the many ways to keep harmony in the workplace and avoid conflict. The challenge comes when individuals start applying these tips in their respective organizations. But with individuals working together to achieve a harmonious working environment, it will never be too difficult to attain it.
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