113 Architecture questions - What does the office community promote?
Let's start with WHY. Why is a good office community worth striving for?
It has long been pointed out that three psychological needs are essential for successful teams: Autonomy, competence and connectedness. Of these three basic needs, connectedness - the desire to build relationships with other people - is the most difficult for organisations to cultivate. It's one thing to attract talented employees, but how exactly do you get them to like each other?
Psychologist Ron Friedman recommends 5 beneficial behaviours:
Talking to each other in person, or on the phone.
Talking to each other strengthens relationships and prevents misunderstandings. An informal exchange of experiences and mutual support offer support and promote resilience. All too often, people talk too little to each other and talk a lot about each other.
Talk about topics outside of work.
In personal conversations, we recognise common interests, deepen sympathy and promote more authentic bonds. Conversations about sport, the latest film or personal matters bring us together and make us enjoy spending time together, thus forming the basis for wanting to pursue goals together.
Planning strategically together.
A well-organised meeting culture that keeps team members up to date on each other's progress. Shaping and evaluating the work environment together. Poor coordination and insistence on outdated routines lead to dissatisfaction, which drains resources.
Show appreciation for each other.
The success of a collective is made up of the achievements of individuals. This is why personal recognition for individual achievements is also important. The personal contribution to the common cause. Appreciation from superiors and not least among colleagues, as a cultivated form of motivation.
From a Chinese fortune biscuit: "You create loyal allies when you let your employees share in your success."
Be authentic.
Celebrate successes and share them with all team members. Even in everyday life, compliment team colleagues and show appreciation. But also tease each other jokingly from time to time. A humorous, "barrier-free" way of dealing with each other.
But negative feelings also need an outlet. It is often enough to vent by complaining, swearing or using sarcasm. Anger and frustration need to be addressed and heard. Inner resentment draws cognitive resources away from productive work and in the long term leads to resignation and ultimately to indifference - the opposite of commitment.
Working time is living time, working spaces are living spaces!
