The Joy of Office Comradery: Why It’s SO Essential In A Professional Environment

As a young professional, I’ve experienced several types of leaders.  Some positively transformed my life while others left me feeling disheartened - at myself.

It comes as no surprise that the behavior of individual leaders impacts EVERYONE within the organization.  These people oversee the success of their business while correctly leading their employees.  If a leader treats an office as inferior, fails to understand their employees and barks orders, then the office will behave as though they are inferior.  If a leader knows all their employees on a personal level and knows what sparks and motivates them, then the office will turn into a high-spirited and thriving business. 

Office comradery, the sense of organizational cohesiveness, delivers a strong bond between leaders and their employees in that they all feel connected by common goals and successes.  They have a sense that everybody is in it together, therefore work as a unit rather than individuals to achieve their goals.  That’s why this idea of “togetherness” in a work environment is so essential.  How can you possibly expect to feel comfortable bouncing ideas off of someone when you don’t even feel comfortable asking them a question?  

While office comradery requires participation by both leader and employees, it must start with the individual leader.  To build a unified work environment, leaders can utilize the following tips: 

1. Encouraging Employees to Be Themselves - Valuing individualism is crucial for comradery in a work environment.  The beauty of individuality is that everyone brings their own experience and ideas, and helps the organization look at solving problems in a different light.
 2. Creating a Favorable Environment - Leaders have the responsibility to create an environment where employees truly enjoy coming to work each day.  A soothing environmental condition causes efficient worker productivity and increases job satisfaction.
 3. Openly Celebrating Mutual Successes- There is no need for elaborate events; they could be as simple as “Bagel Wednesdays” or a post-work Happy Hour.  The important thing is that it’s incorporated in company culture.  It also encourages colleagues to chat about things other than work. 

It’s important to know that creating a unified work environment cannot be achieved overnight.  However, incorporating these tips will not only create a prosperous work environment, but will initiate trust within their employees.

This guest blog post was written by Emily O'Connell.