Creating healthy connections with female employees is a fundamental piece of forming a happy and proficient work environment for your office. To strengthen female relationships in the office women must take certain steps in their own personal growth to be willing and open to the collaborative efforts of other women. By building each other up, always having one another’s backs and emitting an energy that is kind and respectful, the overall relationships of women in the workplace will improve.
Respect each other’s ideas
When building healthy relationships with your female employees, an important step to remember is to respect their ideas and be encouraging of their thought processes. Every person has unique skills that they bring to the table in a workplace, and it is important to be open minded and engaged when these ideas are presented. By being reassuring to female employees, a level of comfort is initiated.
Choose friendship over competition
Sometimes, in a female minority workplace, it is easy to engage in an unhealthy competitive rivalry with female counterparts. This is because for women in a mostly male workspace, it can be challenging to feel established and taken seriously. Rather than feed into this energy, it is essential to instead be friendly, approachable and kind to female employees and coworkers.
Women should always build one another up, and this is no different when it comes to a professional setting. Not only can strengthening these relationships improve your overall work performance, but it can also form lifelong friendships outside of the office.
Create a safe space
While being respectful and encouraging of your employees, it is also vital to create a safe space between oneself and the other women in the workplace. Being willing to listen and provide advice to other women when they are struggling will strengthen the bond between you. By doing this, other women will feel able to seek you out when feeling discouraged or burnt out. This will help promote your stance as a leader and you will become a safe yet guiding presence for those you employ.
Finding solace in other female counterparts can be one of the most rewarding experiences in a workplace dynamic. It provides a place to go to vent feelings, distractions or to simply talk about the day ahead and refresh. That companionship can be helpful to mental health and confidence for not only oneself but also those that are impacted by that connection. It will also allow for the collaboration of minds and ideas that will have a positive influence on the work produced in the office. When in the position of being the boss, it is not always advisable to do this with your employees. Instead, look outside your office and try to make friendships with other female leaders that hold a similar position as yourself. Create companionship rather than competitiveness.
Show kindness
Overall, a huge part of taking steps to strengthen professional relationships, while also being the boss, is to be kind and willing to lend a hand when needed. An action as small as paying a female employee a compliment on their work can create and strengthen a connection. Also, giving crucial but respectful feedback will help you season your employees while also being supportive of their individual growth. It will encourage their confidence and open the door to giving each other pointers.
Being firm at times and providing direct requests and feedback is helpful. Sometimes, making the effort to sit down with an employee to address a problem, and help them understand how to be better, can make all the difference in your workplace dynamic. Treat your employees with respect always.
Creating and keeping strong relationships with your female employees will help instill confidence in your workers and help them grow. Being supportive of the efforts of other women will help set an example in the office. By setting a positive example to your employees, they will gain respect and appreciation for you that will promote productivity. You will also lead by example in the ways a woman can be a boss while also being respectful and nurturing.
By putting in the effort to strengthen relationships with employees, it shows your ability to look past the stigmas between women in the workplace. By eliminating this factor, women will come together and work cohesively, producing quality content and efforts in the office. Being the one to initiate this change is important as a boss, as it is a step in overcoming the old social constructs. Overall, these efforts will improve your mental health, your journey as a woman and have positive effects on the women you employ.
