The COVID epidemic reshaped the social norm of remote work. Some solo operators continue to work from home, and it suits them. However, larger businesses with multiple employees thrive when collegial relationships are strong. Most CEOs value a healthy corporate culture where teammates get along and care about one another. Companies depend on collaboration and working together toward common goals. For companies to succeed, teams must be purposeful and intentional, staying focused to meet achievable goals within the time frame set by the company’s leadership. This principle also applies to romantic relationships. Workplace or romantic partner goals are not met, when workloads are uneven when someone on the team fails to contribute when participation is one-sided. or when power dynamics and attention-seeking behaviors emerge.
Many companies authorize large budget expenditures to develop, improve, or maintain workplace relationships because they recognize the direct impact this has on turnover rates, productivity, and overall business success. Some organizations invest thousands of dollars in outside consultants to enhance coworker relationships and increase collaboration and teamwork.
Romantic relationships can benefit from similar expertise. Although romantic and corporate relationships differ significantly, they share many common elements. Both involve mutual respect, communication, problem-solving skills, spending quality time together, and relying on one another. Often, both types of relationships are long-term and collaborative in nature.
Consider your romantic relationship as a collaboration. Collaborations are based on working together to accomplish household tasks, manage a budget, pay bills, plan vacations, raise children, set goals, and prepare for the future. Couples might even collaborate in their intimate lives.
Healthy relationships require interdependence rather than independence. They consider each other’s feelings, plans, personality traits, love languages, opinions, goals, motivations, passions, gifts, talents, hopes, and dreams. Achieving this necessitates careful collaboration and connection. Building this level of collaboration can be challenging and fraught with risks, emotion, or negativity, as it requires trust and reliance on one another.
Romantic partners understand that making a significant purchase together, such as a home or a car, requires high levels of trust. Constructing furniture or building something together demands collaboration. To achieve shared goals, couples must be coordinated and thoroughly engaged. One partner cannot disappoint the other by failing to do their part. Both individuals must be intentional and focused. Unsurprisingly, those with unreliable partners often feel angry and frustrated.
Collaborations can quickly unravel at home or work when workloads are uneven, and one person bears more responsibility. Collaborations are at risk when contributions are inconsistent or when there is a power imbalance. They cannot succeed without equal participation or engagement, especially if one partner consistently falls short, creating additional work for the other. The team, whether at work or home, will undoubtedly feel frustrated and annoyed. Instances of undermining collaboration at work or home include passive-aggressive behaviors, avoidance of difficult conversations, lack of realistic expectations or boundaries, codependence, and enabling unreliability.
Individuals, teams, and couples should learn how collaborations can flourish or falter at home or work, allowing everyone to enjoy a more harmonious and productive workplace or romantic relationship. joneen@narme.org