What Criteria Do You Need To Consider When Choosing A Coworker

Most of the graduates we’ve worked with enter the workforce eager and excited. However, they are unsure of how to go from a student to a model employee. They find out that when working with others, you must find people you enjoy working with. Your role in any organization is to become the best teammate to your coworkers and help foster a positive working environment. But what criteria should you consider when choosing your coworkers? Remember, you also have to abide by these to ensure you also fit into that work environment.

Dependability

It might seem obvious, but it isn’t. A dependable coworker is a person who got your back at all times. This is an employee who meets deadlines, does what they say they’re going to do, and take responsibility for correcting their own mistakes. Being this kind of person earns you a positive reputation for being someone your coworkers and organization can depend on.

Trustworthy

Ever heard of grapevine? It’s a better term for gossip at the workplace. Having the ability to know something and keep it to yourself, not becoming part of the office’s grapevine, is a key trait. Working with others requires trust, and if your coworkers realize you are a trustworthy person who can be trusted with keeping their venting sessions to yourself, they are more likely to trust you with issues that might affect you too.

Empathetic

In your workplace, you will be faced with challenges now and then. Some of these might be personal challenges affecting your work life. It would help if you chose a coworker who can put themselves in your shoes and understand what you’re going through. Everyone has a bad day, and you need an understanding and empathetic person who knows you aren’t slacking off and attempts to cover for you.

Hardworking

This is obvious, but most employees suffer from lazy coworkers. Being part of the organization is being part of a team. You need a coworker who is a team player and one who is hardworking and motivated. Some of the jobs you have to do require teamwork and sacrifice. If your coworker is always late to get to work and lazy, think twice. Lazy coworkers drag you down and might even get you into trouble. If not, you take a chunk of their work and do it yourself to avoid getting late, which is unfair and tiresome.

Develop these traits if you want to succeed personally at work and develop strong working relationships with your colleagues.