Workplace Relations - A key work area in your team?

by Andrea Jones

We all have our own understanding of what creates good teamwork and good relationships at work, but sometimes we can get stuck when others don’t think the same way!

In some organisations it may sound controversial to include ‘workplace relations’ as a ‘Key Work Area’ in work plans. We at Groupwork Centre think it is just as important as other task focused accountabilities.

Including this key work area can help individuals and the team to understand the importance of positive, collaborative behaviour towards each other, and the negative effect it can have on productivity if relationships and communications become dysfunctional.

Setting clear expectations with staff is a fundamental role for leaders, and it’s most effectively done within the team through a collaborative process.

Leaders can help their teams to create agreements about how to work well together, what to do if things get tricky, and to talk about what’s important to each person when working with each other.

Some examples of workplace relations agreements that could arise in team discussions are:

• being willing to greet each other when arriving at work

• When challenged, speak to the person who you are having difficulties with before escalating things

• having your camera on during online meetings

• not being part of gossip or hearsay.

Agreements help the team create their own culture by discussing how they would like to behave with each other and with others in the organisation.  They help create safety and a greater consciousness around how we all need to behave together.

Such agreements can then be included in the regular supervision meetings a leader has with their individual team members.

Having a shared understanding of expectations around workplace behaviour leads to a more harmonious and productive workplace.

How are workplace relationships and behaviour managed in your organisation?