Questions for inspiration
Below are some questions that may inspire you to be supportive and be supported in your work:
- Do you ask for help if you need it? If not, why is this difficult for you?
- Have you asked your manager or a colleague for help or support? Did you receive it?
- Are you good at listening to each other’s work problems? Do you help and support each other?
- How many of you engage in the collegial community? Is anyone left out of?
- Are reports about problems taken seriously and resolved by your manager?
- Do you know the procedures for dealing with difficult customers, violence or threats of violence, shoplifting and robbery?
Here is what you can do
Below is inspiration that others have found useful.
- Say when you need help. It can be difficult for others to know whether you need help. It’s therefore important that you say when you need help, even if you don’t know exactly what it is you need help with. Perhaps you just feel insecure about something.
- Support and help your colleagues. You can support your colleagues just by being attentive. If a colleague is dealing with a difficult customer or task, you can offer to help. You can make yourself available and listen if a colleague comes to you with problems. In this situation, you should know how best to ask and listen.
- Make the collegial community stronger. We all need to be part of a community. There will always be some people we trust more than others and some people we are more comfortable sharing problems and challenges with than others. However, you can promote the collegial community by being open and, for example, welcoming new colleagues, supporting social events and encouraging others to support such events as well.
You can also build a sense of community through simple actions such as saying good morning, smiling and asking, “Can I do anything to help you?” if a colleague looks as if they need help.
Being able to talk with colleagues about work also creates a sense of community. If you address a problem, you show that “we can talk about our problems here”. Acknowledgement and recognition also help build sense of community and collegiality.