What are coworker skills?

Coworker skills strengthen the work community and it's well-being.

Networking and influencing skills as well as good interpersonal skills in everyday encounters increase a person's sense of connection and community and helps to reduce loneliness at work. 

In the following video (2:29), Anne talks about her experiences of loneliness at work and the importance of colleagues.

Key Coworker Skills

Active Listening

• Active listening starts with taking initiative to keep the conversation going.
• The second step is to focus on listening to what the other person is saying without thinking about what you will say next.
• Finally, check that you have understood the other person’s message correctly.

Practicing Compassion

• Aim to understand the other person’s feelings, experiences, and perspective.
• Ask clarifying questions.
• Avoid dismissing or minimizing the other person’s experience.
• Ask if they want advice or guidance.
• Check what they think about the conversation and any possible advice.

Nonverbal Communication

• Pay attention to your own body language, eye contact, and tone of voice.
• When listening to sometone make sure you look at the other person’s face and eyes most of the time. Avoid doing anything else, like checking your phone or looking at your computer.
• Act consistently: if you want to communicate friendliness, make sure your tone is warm.
• Check whether you are interpreting the other person’s nonverbal signals correctly.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

• Give feedback on the other person’s actions in a concrete and friendly way.
• Learn to accept feedback and use it as guidance for how to act next time.
• Stay firm if you encounter inappropriate feedback.

Emotional and Self-Regulation Skills

• Practice recognizing and expressing your own emotions.
• Politely ask for what you need.
• Treat your own imperfections and needs with compassion.
• Develop emotional and self-regulation skills so you can handle different workplace situations skillfully.

The Ability to Work Together

Coworker skills are an important part of organizational functionality. They define how employees interact, resolve conflicts, and build trust in everyday life.

Strong social skills at work increase engagement, reduce stress, and improve organizational performance. Coworker skills can also fade over time. Learned skills deteriorate if they are not used in daily work.

It’s worth checking the following skills from time to time:

Good manners

• The basic requirement for coworker skills.

Working together

• Ability to give space to others and build a shared direction.

Brave and constructive conversation

• Courage to express your own perspective.
• Open discussion about issues with the person concerned.

Respecting others

• Assuming goodwill is the foundation of trust in the workplace.
• Enable participation and a sense of inclusion for others.

Self-awareness and responsibility

• An ability to self-reflect and take an active role as a member of the work community.
• Taking responsibility for mistakes and correcting the situation.

Solution orientation and feedback

• A solution-focused approach to problems. Regular, encouraging feedback to others.
• Giving and requesting feedback within the work community.

Reciprocity is the heart of workplace interaction

Reciprocity means a balance between giving and receiving. When you feel heard and valued, it’s easier to support others. In working life, reciprocity shows in small actions and builds the sense that we are in this together.

How does reciprocity show in everyday life?

• Listening and being heard: When someone genuinely stops to listen, the other person dares to share their thoughts.
• Helping and supporting: Help received during busy times increases the willingness to help others later.
• Space for different perspectives: In team meetings, speaking turns are shared evenly, and quieter voices are heard too.
• Warm welcome for newcomers: When a new employee is greeted kindly and guided calmly, they are more likely to pass it on.

Reciprocity is not a trade-off but trust that the common good supports everyone. It reduces competition, increases safety, and strengthens workplace cohesion.

Loneliness is hard to talk about

Workplace loneliness occurs when coworker relationships don’t work or have too many breaks. It can also feel like your professional skills are lost.

It may be difficult to talk about loneliness at work. However, discussing it is important for well-being and coping at work. Even in loneliness, interaction skills develop through awareness, practice, and feedback.

Starting the conversation: listening, asking, and acting

The most important thing is to be interested in what the other person is saying, give space to the other person, and avoid belittling, advising, or comparing situations. Small everyday actions and open interaction strengthen community.

• A safe atmosphere enables openness. It’s easier to talk about loneliness in workplaces where trust, respectful encounters, and dialogical interaction prevail. Competition, crticism and a hectic work atmosphere make it harder to bring up the topic of loneliness.
• Everyone has a role in reducing loneliness. Employees, supervisors, and occupational health can each start the conversation. Listening, respectful feedback, and finding forward-looking solutions together are essential.
• Open discussion reduces shame and increases belonging. Talking about loneliness normalizes the experience, reduces feelings of inferiority, and strengthens inclusion and well-being in the workplace.

The entire organization benefits from good coworker skills, as they are reflected in the work atmosphere, collaboration, and ultimately in the work results.

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