Workplace Relationships

‘Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.’

(Romans 12:18 NLT)

One of the most stressful areas of working life can be the people that we work with.

We are all different and unique and, often in a workplace, you will find a very diverse mix of people thrown together under one common goal.

Much like a church body, people from all walks of life are combined with the same focus and we are encouraged to live at peace with one another.

The verse above, from the book of Romans in the Bible, comes from a part of scripture that is entitled ‘a living sacrifice to God.’

We will, at times, be asked to lay down our own preferences so that peace remains. This includes peace in our working relationships.

If you are working in an environment where you are struggling with one or more of your co-workers, remember that peace is always the aim. Being right or winning the dispute is not necessarily what makes for a peaceful workplace. Compromise and understanding work!

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

(Proverbs 27:17)

Who can testify to a person in our lives that ‘sharpens’ us?

By sharpen I mean that they have the potential to cause us discomfort (is this not the essence of sharpening?!)

These individuals in our workplaces can have an invaluable effect on our character. They teach us what our comfortable relationships (with people who think, act, and live the same as us) don’t. They teach us a new way and are often relationships put there by God.

Perhaps there is a co-worker in your life who never gossips about others or has a bad word to say about anyone. They challenge you to better yourself and sharpen your sense of purity.

Perhaps there is a co-worker who repeatedly submits their work to you late and forces you to have to become assertive in how you communicate and deal with disagreements in a Godly way.

There are hundreds of examples of how difficult relationships can sharpen us. The main thing to remember is that workplace relationships can challenge us to find common ground and peace in our day-to-day jobs.

Next Steps

Make a list of all the ways that a difficult working relationship you have challenges you to be a better colleague.

Refer to this list every time you are tempted to develop a bad attitude about that person or your working life.