Comparing a colleague vs. a coworker might seem like a semantic difference rather than a technical one, but there is a simple point of differentiation between the two. Understanding how to approach each category can help you decide just how to build a good relationship with your coworkers and colleagues. A good relationship with your fellow employees can make a world of difference to your experience at work, but getting too close can also leave you emotionally vulnerable so finding the right balance and building healthy relationships with your co-workers might be what you need to change the trajectory of your work. Let’s take a deeper look at colleagues, coworkers, and companions at work.
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Colleague vs Coworker: Who Is Who?
Within a workspace, you rarely work in isolation. Your job likely involves multiple people senior and junior to you or workers with the same tasks and workers with jobs you’ve never heard of before. You might have employees who have worked directly with you and those you interact with only occasionally for a task or two. The range of employees can be a little overwhelming but categorizing them with simple terms can often give you a good sense of where you stand with each person.
One form of this categorization is understanding the difference between the terms colleagues vs. coworkers. Colleagues refer to people who work in the same role as you do. If you are a software developer who has six other software developers in the organization, you might call them your colleagues. Surprisingly, even those who don’t work at your organization but work a similar job at a different company could technically be your colleagues. When you attend a conference meant for other software developers, you might refer to them as colleagues who have a keen understanding of what it is you do. Regardless of their knowledge of your specific project, they can likely understand the intricacies of your work and what your job description involves.
A coworker, on the other hand, refers to all the people you work with at your organization. You might refer to your boss as your coworker just the same as you would a graphic designer in your company with an entirely different role from you. Your coworkers could be those immediately on your team as well as those on teams you’ve never worked with before. Your coworkers may have entirely different roles and responsibilities from you, but you’re united by the overall goal of helping your organization reach its targets.
Importance of Building Relationships with Coworkers and Colleagues
When you start at a new organization, it can be scary to navigate your work relationships at first, especially without a clear understanding of the degree of formality that is expected of you. Over time, you might start to interact with more employees and build a wider net of contacts but it can still be difficult to determine how to build a good relationship with your coworkers and colleagues. A large part of the nature of relationships you develop here will depend on the work culture. If you observe the existing work relationships around you adopt a very formal tone, then it is better to follow their lead and maintain formal relationships with those around you.
Do formal relationships mean bad relationships? Not at all. Maintaining good relationships with coworkers and colleagues involves having a more positive connection with them, open communication channels when necessary, avoiding bad-mouthing them when they aren’t around, etc. Formal work relationships can also be good relationships, and good relationships are essential for working in harmony.
If your workplace is a little more relaxed and leaves room for building more open and friendly relationships with colleagues and coworkers, then you could create room in your interactions for that as well. Many employees find it much easier to work when they are around people they have a healthy rapport with. Some even build long-term bonds that continue even outside of work but such connections need to be built with some caution and delicacy.
How to Build a Good Relationship with Your Coworkers And Colleagues
Should you be friends with your coworkers? Yes, you can choose to be friends with your coworkers and meet them for brunch outside on a weekend, but you should also remember that it will be a slightly different friendship from what you’re used to. You may enjoy their company and share your personal victories with them just as you would a friend but you should remember that when it’s Monday again and you’re tasked with responsibilities, you will often be forced to put the work first. You cannot make excuses or exceptions for them just because you’re close, as it could compromise your position with every other individual at the company. You’ll have to hold them to the same standards you would any other employee, which can become difficult when you want to only say nice things to them for being a good friend.
However you choose to proceed, as a close friend or professional associate, building relationships with coworkers and colleagues is an essential, unavoidable part of work so you might as well do your best with it. Understanding the role of colleague vs coworker can be a good place to start. Your colleagues with the organization might be best placed to answer all your technical questions and explore the details of a task at hand, simply because they understand the work better. Building open communication channels to pick each other’s brains and help each other out is a very necessary part of maintaining good relationships with colleagues. Doctors might consult each other on cases even when they don’t see each other often and work independently on most days. Teachers might help each other plan a team-building activity for high school students even when their subjects are different.
When it comes to coworkers, there are varying degrees of relationships you might maintain. Someone you have never spoken to at work may be a head-nod-and-pass-by coworker. Your teammates you see every day may be a lot easier to talk to simply because of familiarity. Building relationships with coworkers can be a lot more complex simply because there are a lot more factors at play and you may or may not have anything in common to talk about casually with them the way you would a colleague. Still, learning how to build a good relationship with your coworkers is easy enough if you keep a few things in mind:
- Approach with a positive attitude: You and your coworkers may be united in your sincere dislike for your manager, but don’t let the negative factor be the only thing that unites you. It can turn sour very quickly
- Maintain open communication: Building relationships with coworkers is easier when you’re seen as approachable and leave space for others to communicate with you
- Work through reservations: It can be very easy to develop a strong dislike for someone because of one aspect of their personality or work ethic. If it is something that can be worked through, pick a good time to communicate and ensure you clear up resolvable issues like responding to emails on time
- Take initiative: It is entirely alright to be an introvert and prefer your own company, but you might have to take the first step every once in a while to let people know that they are free to approach you. Good relationships with coworkers can hinge on one person taking the first step
- Listen and ask questions: How to build a good relationship with your coworkers? Take an interest in their opinions and experiences. This does not mean you become invasive and intrude on their personal lives, but be an active participant in a conversation instead of a passive one
Colleague vs coworker vs close friend, there are different degrees of relationships you can build at work. At the core of it building healthy relationships with coworkers and colleagues is essential but the nature of it can vary from person to person and company to company.