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Perhaps you’re an introvert and loving the current working situation with the likes of COVID, working from home, and blatantly being able to ignore all social activities. Or, perhaps you’re an extravert and miss the lunches, hallway chats, and every aspect of socializing that work gives us.

No matter who you are, building relationships with colleagues for most of us is a bit different from what we’re used to. In fact, according to recent research, more than 61% of Aussies revealed they’ve found it harder to build relationships with colleagues ever since the pandemic. Furthermore, almost 40% of Aussies say that workplace relationships have become more important than before the pandemic.

So, how has covid impacted building relations and what does it take to now build a strong relationship with your colleagues? Strap yourself in, this is a good one!

Turn it up

When we think about building and maintaining relationships at work, most of our interactions are based on physical proximity. Since most of us are not in the office, we’ll have to turn up the frequency at which we reach out to our colleagues. Touching base once a month just won’t cut it if you’re really wanting to step up your game.

Think about how often you reach out to your colleagues and aim to increase it along with the level of consistency. Once a day might not feel like much but it quickly adds up and certainly makes a huge difference. Your colleagues will definitely notice.

Find relatable topics

Building a strong professional relationship in the workplace can be more seamless if you have similar interests or find similarities in general. And these similarities don’t need specifically be work-related, either. You might share the same interests in sports, or follow the same team, and you may even have kids and can relate from a work-life balance perspective. You will most likely find your colleague is glad to have someone to talk to about it. Don’t underestimate the power of similarities, and how they can be a game-changer will building relationships.

Make it fun

People in good spirits, that love to make jokes, laugh, and often are just great to be around will most likely attract more company. Be quirky, make people laugh, arrange social events, lunches, or gatherings outside of work. When people think of work, they don’t necessarily associate it with fun… so here’s your chance to make a difference and build more relationships.

Be Trustworthy

Trustworthiness is a quality that plays an essential part in building and strengthening workplace relationships. Earning others’ trust is certainly no easy task and takes a tremendous amount of time and consistency with not only what you say but also what you do.

Be a Good Listener

Be a good listener to everyone, regardless of their position. All people crave respect, even if it is to simply speak uninterrupted. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions – just be respectful and allow the person their chance to speak. And be there to support them. Provide honest feedback, and help them when required.

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Building and growing relationships with colleagues at the moment may seem quite a bit different than what it did prior to the pandemic. But that doesn’t change people we are all still human beings and crave certain attributes, even more so given the physical interactions are almost non-existent in the office. But by recognizing these foundations, you can still continue to build and strengthen your professional relationships in the workplace.