Most of us have experienced working in both happy and less-than-happy workplace environments, and that means we understand that in most cases, what facilitates the former is friendship and camaraderie among colleagues.
The benefits of strong peer friendships are many: greater productivity, less or no workplace tension, a more collaborative working culture, and greater staff retention. The latter point has renewed importance, given the competition for talent in a labour market that is at virtually full employment.
That’s not to say any of this is easy. Maintaining friendships at work, just like maintaining those outside it, comes with its own set of challenges.
If you’re promoted internally, you may find yourself in a position where you will need to manage your former team members, who you are likely to have developed friendships with while working as peers.
A transition from peer to manager will inevitably change the relationship dynamic between colleagues, and that can potentially have a negative impact on the team. Some will feel resentful or alienated. But that doesn’t have to happen.
Employees want to socialise
While it’s important to set out new ways of working when you’re promoted, like creating a clear working team structure, or perhaps even reshuffling the team entirely, there is equal value in nurturing your established workplace network to maintain strong relationships and reduce any negative feeling.
Our recent survey among working professionals in Ireland identified several practical steps that employees would like to see introduced by their employer to strengthen relationships between colleagues at all levels.
69% of employees said they would like to see work nights out organised more regularly. Almost 3 in 10 workers (28%) would like their employer to support the creation of a social and wellness committee; 17% felt the introduction of a buddy system would help maintain a positive working relationship with colleagues.
Despite the multitude of clear benefits, many employers and managers are failing to proactively facilitate workplace socialising or meet the expectations of their employees looking to develop closer bonds with each other.
More than half (53%) of employees claim their employers don’t actively encourage socialising with colleagues. Only 22% of those surveyed have a workplace social or wellness committee; 21% say their employer organises nights out and just 5% organise team away days.
Create new opportunities
New managers should take note of these trends. To ensure you start on the right foot in your role, capitalise on your team’s desire to socialise with their colleagues by providing frequent relationship-building opportunities within the workplace. By getting involved yourself, you’ll show how you are very much still a part of the team, despite the shift in the dynamic.
This doesn’t have to mean big investment, either. Start small by funding a group social activity on a weekday evening, or marking a team win or the completion of a project by going for dinner or an after-work drink. It doesn’t have to centre around a night out, either. Many companies are encouraging organised lunchtime walking or running groups, or involvement in sports like summer tag rugby.
The simplest way to ensure an open and positive relationship with colleagues and peers is to keep your door open. That way, team members will feel like they can talk to you about any issues or concerns they have.
Job progression will inevitably be a challenging transition and while there are often formal structures in place to ensure best practice, it’s important that those involved take team relationships into consideration and remember that a happy workforce creates a happy workplace.
Christopher Paye is the General Manager of Jobs.ie
