by Heidi Greathouse, Head Editor, INALJ Utah
Developing Relationships in Life—How can this benefit in the workplace?
In the past couple of months since I moved here to Portales, I have had to say goodbye to a lot of people, but also meet new ones. I have been thinking of how important it is to have relationships in life, but I also realized how having relationships in general can be beneficial in the workplace or even in finding a job. Here is what I came up with:
1) Relationships can help with networking: You all have heard that it is important to network to find a job. In my personal experience, when I was looking for a job, I told people who I trusted that I was looking for work. In one instance, the bishop of the church I go to called me and told me about a position that was opened. I was about to train for another position, but I ended up getting the job the bishop told me about. Because of that job, I was able to develop the skills of organization and being detail-oriented. These skills definitely are beneficial to have in the library field. I am glad that I told my bishop that I was looking for a job. I know that if you develop trusting relationships with others, then they will look out for you if you are looking for work and may find something that will help you in your career endeavors.
2) Relationships can help promote a positive environment in the workplace: If you develop great relationships with others in your life, then you are more likely to develop great relationships with your co-workers and boss. It is important to have great relationships with others in the work place because it helps with the workflow and it can create a place where you can connect with others and develop friendships that can even last for a lifetime.
3) Relationships can help you become better at your job: Part of having great relationships with others is having good communication. If you have great communication with your co- workers and your boss, then you and they will be able to work together in solving problems and be able to understand what is going and what is expected of you. You can even be able to know the workflow better and how things are run in the work environment. Before you can become better at your job, you have to know the workplace, which can be done by having great communication with others.
4) Relationships can help you become a better person: By having great relationships with others, you can become a better person by helping others to become their best and letting them encourage you to do your best. This will help in the workplace because if there is honest and beneficial feedback then there will be a better chance of others changing for the better in their job.
I know that by having great, trusting relationships with others, even outside of the workplace, can help us to have a better work environment and can even help us in finding jobs. We don’t have to be best friends with everyone we can come in contact with, but if we learn to interact with others in a positive way, it will help us contribute to a positive work environment and will help us become a better person in general. It is up to us to pay it forward and take the initiative to try to develop those relationships. At times, you may not be able to develop those relationships for various reasons, but do not give up!