WORKPLACE SPECIAL...KNOW THY COLLEAGUE?

KNOW THY COLLEAGUE? 

A report reveals that over 80 per cent of employees in Delhi and Mumbai do not personally know the people they send out regular emails to. And the rest across India don’t really invest in ‘relationship-building’, discovers Yasmin Taj

    How well do you know the person sitting next to you at work? How often do you spend time with your colleagues outside the workplace? Have you made any friends at work or are you amongst those who barely even talk to your colleagues? According to a recent report, despite spending a majority of our time at work, we don’t really know our colleagues too well and often do not make an effort to build on the relationship.
    Cadbury Celebration in partnership with Ipsos, a global market research company, has undertaken an in-depth survey, ‘Cadbury Celebrations Connect Survey’ to comprehend the impact of shifting values, varying lifestyle and technological changes on young India’s relationships, specifically at the workplace. The survey brings forth the glaring disconnect between colleagues across urban India with Mumbai and Delhi leading the trend. An abysmally low six per cent and twelve per cent of people working in Mumbai and Delhi respectively know their colleague sitting next to them, both professionally and personally.
    Chandramouli Venkatesan, director, India snacking & AP developing markets – chocolate lead, Cadbury India says, “With increased work pressure, frenetic lifestyle and changes in family structure, today’s technology is enabling us to connect with people faster and in more efficient ways. However, these forms of communications create an emotional barrier. Today, we have moved away from traditional ways of communicating with people and meeting them personally, expressing delight in person and doing things to evoke positive emotions from other people have become passe.”
    So, what are the factors impacting these relationships? Varkha Chulani, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, Lilavati Hospital, associate fellow & supervisor, The Allbert Ellis Institute, New York City, USA believes that the survey is largely true at least in the metro cities of Mumbai/Delhi. “Time and emotional investment are needed to forge relationships. With scarcity of both, time on hand and emotional stamina, people may be resistant to forming ‘new’ unnecessary liaisons. Also, many a times, personal space intrusions are perceived as unprofessional,” she explains.
    While individuals on their own can improve the quality of their relationships with their colleagues, organisations too can do a lot in creating a positive environment. According to Amit Das, senior vice president, group HR, RPG Enterprises, “Organisations need to deploy customised engagement interventions and communication strategies catering to employees segmented on the basis of demographics, nature of business, cultural diversity and align employee expectations and aspirations effectively to enhance the overall bonding and relationships amongst the employees.” “Social initiatives where employees come together for a social cause further infuse a spirit of togetherness. Initiatives such as these create a happy workforce that fosters collaboration and team spirit and further help increase employee productivity,” informs Manoj Garg, head of HR (consumer business and central functions), Airtel.
    Karthik Kumar, director, Rage Communications further advises, “To promote good relationships, companies should operate at two levels - one the formal one, where there should be clear policies for employees that show all employees are treated fairly, transparently and without bias. At the second level, companies should encourage inter-personal informality in the form of team lunches, celebrating events, etc.”
    Looking at the way relationships are fading these days, rather than clicking on that ‘send’ button, wouldn’t you feel better by walking up to your colleague and sharing a good moment?

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