What is a Healthy Working Relationship?

ByAn-Deiss Savage

and Rachel Seifert

Welcome!

When Reflecting about what goes into a healthy working relationship, there are many traits and skills that come into play. The following presentation outlines and elaborates on some of these standards, characteristics and norms that we typically look for in a healthy relationship dynamic.

Self AwarenessThe foundation for all healthy working

relationships is grounded in a solid foundation of self-awareness. We must be aware of our own preferences, biases, orientations, beliefs and opinions. Understanding where we are situated within our own personal system is vital to understanding how we interact in our larger systems and relationships.

"First organize the inner, then organize the outer ...

First organize the great, then organize the small. First organize yourself, then organize others."

~Zhuge Liang~

Relationship Awareness

• A good sense of relationship awareness is vital for a healthy working relationship. – You can demonstrate your awareness and respect

for others through showing compassion, personal warmth and support.

– Be flexible and open with others, be inclusive, and don’t forget your sense of humor.

– Consciously co-create relationships that you can inhabit in mutual safety and positive regard.

Relationship Awareness and Healthy Workplace Boundaries

Dietz & Thompson (2004) “The concern about appropriate boundaries is, at least in part, a

concern about the effects of the power differential between client and professional.

It is primarily a concern about boundary violations” (p. 2).

Ethics and the Working Relationship

• No examination of a healthy working relationship would be complete without touching upon the centrality of ethical working practices.

• According to the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals, Standard Two states: “Human service professionals respect the integrity and welfare of the client at all times. Each client is treated with respect, acceptance, and dignity”.

Acceptance• When entering a working relationship, one

foundational standard is the quality of acceptance. • There will be times we may not see eye to eye on

issues; we must accept that we will not agree about everything, and proceed together in appropriate ways.

• We should also be aware that acceptance must extend to the cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, orientation and religious differences that may exist between workers and their supervisors and clients.

Some Thoughts on the Value of Acceptance

• “We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses”.– C.G. Jung

• “Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it”.– Kathleen Casey Theisen

What is Good Communication?

• “Good communication skills are skills that facilitate people to communicate effectively with one another. Effectual communication engages the choice of the best communications channel, the technical know-how to use the channel, the presentation of information to the target audience, and the skill to understand responses received from others”.

Communication Within Working Relationships

• “Communication openness is the willingness to communicate and share opinions, ideas, and criticisms with each other” (Meyers et al., 1999).

• This seems like a simple task, but in fact it takes a certain amount of willingness to be vulnerable when you make yourself open to healthy communication with co-workers or supervisors. Particularly when you communicate about, or advocate for, a potentially divisive policy, idea, or issue.

• Remember that we communicate in both verbal and nonverbal ways, and communication is a collaborative effort between all members involved.

The Special Nature of Worker-Client Communications

• Communicate the privacy statements of your agency with the client before services are provided. Statement Five of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals elaborates on this worker-client communication norm when it states “Human service professionals protect the integrity, safety, and security of client records. All written client information that is shared with other professionals, except in the course of professional supervision, must have the client’s prior written consent”.

• Clarification is important in good communication. Describing clearly and accurately the expectations and responsibilities of the client is vital to their continued success in their program.

• When communicating, be sensitive to the power differential inherent in the worker-client relationship, use respectful language.

What are Good Listening Skills?

• To listen well, you have to hear what is being and said and also understand what is being told.

• Be attentive, giving your entire attention to listening to the speaker. • Listen actively:

– Use appropriate eye contact.– Eliminate environmental and internal distractions whenever possible.– Show interest in what is being said.– Don’t interrupt the speaker. Wait until they have said everything they need to

say.– Ask questions when the time is appropriate. – If in a heated argument, allow the other person to say their peace and then

say yours. Continue to listen actively even if you don’t agree.– Listen with your heart and mind, as well as your ears.

Listening Skills Within Working Relationships

• Good listening skills are applicable in every relationship that we have, including the working relationships we have with our fellow colleagues and our supervisors.

• In the workplace, good listening practices will enhance interpersonal relationships, assist in the accurate transmission of messages and meanings, and promote a respectful, mindful, supportive and efficient working atmosphere.

Listening to our Clients

• Listening is an extremely important part of the helping professional’s relationship with their client. We have to open our ears and minds to our clients, and allow them not only a safe environment to open up in, but also demonstrate the value we place on their sharing by listening to them actively.

• To listen actively to our clients we must acknowledge that we are listening through our body language, eye contact, gestures, and open body position; as well as asking questions at the appropriate time to help clarify meanings, and get more detailed information.

On Listening…

• “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

~Robert McCloskey

Problem solving skills

Conflicts within relationships will come up from time to time, and it is very important to become effective problem solvers. The first step we must take is to proactively identify the challenge or difficulty that we are experiencing.

When the issue is with a client or co-worker, we have to be sensitive to the situation and have possible solutions to the problem identified before confronting that person or issue.

We have to be able to look within ourselves to see if we could be the problem; if so, then we need to assess what changes we can make within ourselves to work out a solution, or clear up misunderstandings.

If we are in any doubt as to how to proceed with a delicate matter, we should consult our supervisors.

~Problem Solving~ “Before you

start to tackle the current problem, it is important to clearly understand the difficulty and why you are unhappy with the current situation.”

In Closing… It is difficult to sum up all the dynamic and

interactive choices, standards, characteristics and norms that come into play in healthy working relationships. However, it is our hope that this presentation addressed some of the most fundamental skills and processes we must be acquainted with in our working relationships, including: Self Awareness, Relationship Awareness, Boundaries, Ethics, Acceptance, Communication, Listening Skills, and Problem Solving.

Thank you! An-Deiss Savage and Rachel Seifert

ReferencesSlide Four

Liang, Z. (2004). Leadership quotes: Discovering your ability to lead . Retrieved from: http://www.love-quotes-and-quotations.com/leadership-quotes.html

Slide SixDietz, C., & Thompson, D. (2004). Rethinking boundaries: Ethical dilemmas in the social worker-client relationship. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 15 (2), 1-24. DOI: 10.1300/J059v15n02•01

Slide SevenNational Organization for Human Services. (2009). Retrieved from: http

://www.nationalhumanservices.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43

Slide Nine Jung, C.G. Finestquotes.com. Retrieved from: http://www.finestquotes.com/author_quotes-author-C.%20G.%20Jung-page-0.htmTheisen, K.C. Finestquotes.com. Retrieved from: http://www.finestquotes.com/author_quotes-author-Kathleen%20Casey%20Theisen-page-0.htm

Slide TenWordpress. (2011). Good communication skills. Retrieved from: http://www.goodcommunicationskills.net/

Slide ElevenMiller, K. I. (2007). Compassionate Communication in the Workplace: Exploring Processes of Noticing, Connecting, and Responding. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35(3), 223-245. doi:10.1080/00909880701434208

Slide TwelveNational Organization for Human Services. (2009). Retrieved from: http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=43

Slide SixteenWordpress. (2011). Good communication skills. Retrieved from: http://www.goodcommunicationskills.net/

Slide EighteenAthealth.com. (2010). Problem solving skills. Retrieved from: http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/problemsolving.html

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