Crucial Professional Friendships: Between Employees & Manager OR Mentors & Mentees

Friendship Day is being celebrated in India today! Like me, I hope you all must have told your friends how much they mean to you. Yet, I couldn't help but wonder "Do we realize the importance of the equally important friendships in our professional space?" Be it that smirk ?? between colleagues in a lengthy meeting with the boss, that happy smile ?? when you are appreciated by your manager, or that heated argument ?? with your mentor/mentee over a minute detail of a project; all of these constitute a major part of our daily lives. So, today let us discuss how to develop and maintain such office friendships.

What Seniors (Managers/Team Leaders/Mentors/Trainers) can do to Cultivate Genuine Bonds of Friendship?

1. Listen??, then React ???: To understand anyone, it is very important to first listen to what they are trying to tell you. It can be actual words they use to discuss their problems or subtle behavioral signs; all need to be taken into account while discussing anything work-related or otherwise.
2. Set Achievable Targets ?? & Deadlines: Be aware that your employees are also humans and not machines; thus, require breaks. Set targets that can be achieved by said deadline simply, by sincerely working within the working hours of the company.
3. Be Approachable ??: Stay open and approachable to your juniors so that they can easily discuss doubts, and talk openly about their struggles in completing a task, or even personal issues. In this way, the said targets can be met without much stress and it is more likely that employees might surprise you by sharing a few of their ideas & suggestions.

What Juniors (Employees/Team Members/Mentees) should do to Maintain Friendships at the Workplace?

1. Listen ??& Learn ??: Just like your seniors give you their time & patience to hear you out, you too should try to decipher what position they hold and the targets and liabilities they need to take care of on a daily basis. Hence, if they seem short on a certain day, make an attempt to understand their work stress. When they hold meetings or training sessions, ensure that you use this as an opportunity to learn & develop new skills and begin contributing to the organization in all ways you possibly can.
2. Be Respectful ??: Although you might be on friendly terms with your boss, it doesn't mean that the hierarchy and decorum of the workplace can be ignored. You still need to ensure to respond to their texts, calls, or emails professionally and make timely submissions as asked of you.
3. Achieve Allotted Targets by Given Deadlines ??? ??: The most basic requirement of an employer is for an employee to deliver tasks allotted to them sincerely and timely. If you want that your seniors to not single you out in team meetings, the responsibility first falls on your shoulder to show up to work with punctuality, spend all of your working hours learning & working towards the goals of the team and the organization.

Flavorful Gossip and Focussed Discussions with Fellow Colleagues

While water-cooler gossip ?? is inevitable and has become the essence of every workplace, developing genuine care for your fellow workers and finding common interests to build friendships would be a good start. Having said that, breaks can also be utilized to discuss doubts pertaining to tasks allotted to you, to collaborate on projects, and to divide tasks as per your skill set so that targets can be achieved with the least possible stress.

Cheers ?? to building new friendships for life!

Let me know if it helped! ?? Feel free to reshare with your thoughts!

By Divya Sharma,

Operations Manager, Framed Media

Thank you for being a helpful colleague Sushma Singh ma'am and for being an amazing, inspiring boss Aditya Farrad sir.??