By Anshuman Kukreti
You wake up and get ready. You leave in a haste and as soon as you reach your office, there is only be one thing running across your mind- work, work and work.
According to a lot of professionals, the thought discussed above might be the mantra to success in one’s professional life.
But, keeping in mind the trends across the globe, can this mentality fetch you the desired results?
Considering the work load you’re dealing with, the clouds of confusion might be hovering above your head by now. But, the next 10 minutes you spend reading this article, will take you through some points, which will make the importance of socializing at workplace quite clear.
Why do I need to work on socializing?
An apt question indeed, here are just a few reasons why:
- Socializing and having friendly chats with your co-workers is an efficient way of sharing knowledge and regular updates. Social activities gives work exposure to different perspectives on various changes in company policies and projects. Sharing experiences of success and failure, guides others in your team.
- It is often considered as a healthy team building technique. Teamwork is the prime requirement for any organization to produce results and grow. Hence, companies allow their employees to spend a little time talking to each other, go out for a lunch and organize short trips to holiday destinations.
- Socializing is the most effective way to build healthy relations between various departments of an organization. For instance, a strong alliance between an employee of the logistics department and an employee of the production department could result in an efficient team that finds a way to develop the most efficacious way to go about the production.
How to develop these skills?
All you need is to keep the following things in mind and before you know, you’ll be the most friendliest guy around at your workplace.
Try stepping out of your comfort zone – You might be on the reserved side who prefers staying next to co-workers you know best in various social situations. But, it’s quite a good idea to initiate conversations with people outside your social circle, be it your HR SPOC or your manager.
At first, it might appear daunting to start a conversation with executives in your company, so you need to be prepared. When you’re approaching someone who you haven’t met or talked to before, introduce yourself by giving a 30-second description about your work and profile. You can also use conversation starters like vacation plans or the story of any recent movie.
Enjoy your company – Your colleagues might get comfortable with you once it appears that you’re having fun in their company. People are always eager to know fun people, somebody who enjoys company. Having humorous chat sessions during the lunch break, participating in various recreational activities at work and eating your meals with the team, might prove to be useful.
Maintain the correct body language – Body language is one of the prime things which determines your comfort level with a fellow employee while having a conversation. Make sure you maintain an open body language. Try to be submissive in your gestures and avoid closing yourself off by crossing your arms. Being a wallflower won’t enable people to get comfortable with you. Try to remain as active as you can.
Attend seminars and events organized by your company – Seminars serve as the perfect opportunity to connect with like-minded people at work. Keep your business card ready to hand over to the employees from other departments or branches. In case you get into a conversation with someone, jot down a few details regarding the person on the back of his business card to remember him by.
Know when to socialize and what to talk about – It is nice to socialize with your co-workers, but your boss might have a problem with you hanging by the water cooler or in the cafeteria all day. So choose your time carefully.
Moreover, the conversation starters you pick should be based on the common interests you share with your colleague or something related to work. Refrain from getting into a heated debated with any of your co-workers regarding sensitive topics like religion, caste, creed, race etc. to avoid any mishappening.
Offer to help – Helping your colleagues outside work might help you get in good terms with them. In case you see a stressed colleague, just try and offer a helping hand. Who knows you might end up earning a trustworthy friend.
As the discussion above clearly suggests, work is all about being comfortable and productive. Comfort can easily be ensured once you have ample friends at workplace. So all you need is to remember the points mentioned above and make your professional life blissful.
Author Bio: Anshuman Kukreti is a professional writer and a keen follower of the global job market. An engineer by qualification and an artist at heart, he writes on various topics relating to employment across the globe. Currently he is working for Naukrigulf.
