Think of the last time you talked about your work relationships with someone. What words did you use to describe those relationships? Did you use words with positive connotations, such as encouraging and inclusive, to describe the relationship you have with your boss? Maybe you described the difficult relationship you have with one of your coworkers as strained and passive-aggressive.
Looking at the words you use to describe your work relationships is an easy but valuable exercise anyone can (and should!) do periodically. By simply taking a closer look at the words you use, you can gain a better understanding of the status and nature of your relationships, and then take action to either strengthen the good, healthy relationships you have or improve the negative ones you might be struggling with. After all, we spend over a third of our entire lives at work. 90,000 hours spent with bosses, teammates, colleagues, and clients. Wouldn’t you rather make the most of those relationships, given how much time of your life is spent in this way?
If it does, then let’s get started. It’s simple. The following list contains over 175 words commonly used to describe work relationships. Review them with one specific person in mind and highlight the words that best describe the current state of your relationship. You may even use a different color to highlight the words that would describe the ideal, future state of that relationship. From there, it’s up to you to brainstorm ways to improve those relationships and then actually put them into action.
Good work relationships don’t happen overnight. Unless you're a charismatic leader, they take time to build and require intentionality to maintain. However, the effort you put into doing so has been proven to unlock many benefits. For one, the onboarding automation platform, Enboarder, found that people who feel connected to other people at work are more satisfied with their current role, more likely to stay at their organization for the foreseeable future, and are twice as likely to feel motivated to go above and beyond their job responsibilities.
Now, let’s review the list of words commonly used to describe good working relationships.
Walking (or logging) into work every day, knowing you’re going to have to deal with a toxic work relationship, is harmful to everything from your productivity to your engagement and even your mental health. In fact, McKinsey found that toxic workplace behaviors are the single biggest predictor of burnout symptoms and intent to leave.
All of this to say, if you would use one or more of the following words to describe a relationship you have at work, then you’re likely in a toxic work relationship that needs to be dealt with ASAP.
The following list of words are commonly used to describe work relationships. However, depending on your interpretation and use of them, they can take on either a positive, negative, or neutral meaning.
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