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There is a school of thought that says it is impossible to be friends with colleagues. If you are working in proximity, there is a very good chance that you are competing for the next promotion or salary hike. It’s easy to say that good-natured rivalry works best. But in practice, good nature runs out of the backdoor when competition enters by the front. And if you are not close to each other on the organisational ladder in the workplace, you are probably not colleagues at all.
It should cause some surprise, therefore, that a recent survey by TheJobCrowd in the UK shows that the prime reason for happiness in the workplace is the relationship with colleagues . With several other surveys showing that a happy workforce has a positive effect on the bottomline, it should be a management objective to develop bonds in the workplace.
Yet, if you look at the world around you, there is no indication that happiness is something that’s desired. In fact, many managers see it as something that’s undesired; happy employees seem to imply a lot of time spent in unnecessary communication. That may be the reason why another study (Attitudes to Work by IFF Research) shows that employees in the UK have very low trust levels in their bosses.
Most workplaces are politicised. At the factory level, there are unions. As recent experiences in India show, this can be very messy. “Profitable units have closed down because of rivalry within unions and between unions,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant D. Singh. “In many multinationals —which believe in internal works committees rather than unions — there has been violence and lockouts when external unions (generally affiliated with political parties) tried to muscle in.”
At the officer level — excepting in public sector banks that are a law unto their own — unions are generally not permitted or preferred. Individuals play politics and it can be a vicious affair. Colleagues often seem to be close friends. But, make no mistake, these are marriages of convenience. The knives will be out the moment the occasion calls for it.
Don’t genuine relationships develop in the work environment? Yes, they do. But you will never find everyone part of the same team or club. Two individuals might find that they have a lot in common. But they start being regarded as one unit. It’s like a married couple where both lose their individuality.
In Click: The Magic of Instant Connections, the authors come up with a new concept. The authors — Ori and Rom Brafman — call it “self-monitoring”. Explaining this in a magazine article, they say: “Let’s say you’ve been cornered at a party by someone who is talking your ear off about a topic you’re indifferent to. Many of us would try to feign interest for a few minutes before excusing ourselves. A high self-monitor would find a way to make the discussion meaningful for both parties or segue naturally to another topic. In a lab experiment, for example, test subjects were placed next to a woman shaking her leg. Without thinking about it, high self-monitors were significantly more likely to shake their own legs, too.”
How do you cultivate such people in an organisation? A lot depends on the corporate culture. If you have a culture that works — that people actually believe in — there is a much greater chance of finding compatibility. Another important aspect is the induction process. “You must try and take in people who believe in your mission and vision. Training and mentoring also play key roles.
“There is a good amount of stuff to be done,” concludes Singh. “And even after doing all that, there is no guarantee that it will work. That’s why it is much easier to extract as much out of employees as possible. A happy workforce may deliver better results. But it costs too much and is always an uncertain proposition.
BONDS IN THE WORKPLACE
Reasons for happiness (%)
Relationship with colleagues 29
Opportunities for career progression 20
Job satisfaction 19
Level of responsibility 15
Company culture 9
Training & development 8
