Option A: Interpersonal Communication Improvement Proposal

By Natasha Webb Salt Lake Community College Communications 1010 9.11.2013

Overview Most people often struggle with basic listening skills. I would like to work on my listening skills at work with my co-workers to help me become more social and appreciated by my boss. I also would like to become more acquainted with the people I work with to develop personal (non romantic) relationships to better understand their needs while working. At work I have to recognize my Psychological Barriers so I wont get too overwhelmed with all the information. There is such a variety of people who I work with, varying in age as well, that I must realize and become familiar with the different listening styles. Eliminating unwanted barriers and becoming more familiar with listening styles will really help me to listen to my co-workers better.

Description of the Problem Sometimes I will come into work and see a huge mess that someone, who I work with, didnt think they had the responsibility of cleaning. This problem is frustrating for me because if a certain paper is misfiled or the office isnt clean the day will not go by as smoothly, or we will run into problems. Keep in mind that I work in the afternoon, so I come into work in the middle of the day right after lunch break. My first approach to fixing this problem was for me to just go and take care of the problem myself, even though it wasnt necessarily my responsibility. An example would be that one file was incorrectly filed, but I would take the time to correctly file a chart so the office could find it easily, or restock the office. The downsides to my strategy were that I would get behind in my work for the rest of the day and have to stay longer until my work was finished, my co-workers didnt learn from their mistakes, and I would make multiple mistakes throughout the rest of the day because of the psychological barrier of preoccupation (Alder & Elmhorst, pg. 63). Upon realizing the flaws of my strategy, I changed it to an egocentric strategy ( Alder & Elmhorst, pg. 64). Instead of doing my coworkers labors I decided to order my co-workers to finish their work/ clean up their messes. This has completely disconnected me from them and was the wrong approach to the problem. Also, I could see that my co-workers started to talk to me less and less, and wouldnt help me with my own work problems. This was a very selfish thing for me to do because I didnt realize that, sometimes, my coworkers had more important work to finish first, they would get to clean the mess later, or they just didnt know that they had that responsibility. Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed helping others with their work load but not doing their work for them every day.

Resources and Constraints I go to college full time 6 days a week, and juggle part time work. It can sometimes be difficult to keep my mind focused on just work right after school, especially being stressed about homework. One resource I can go to for help about my current situation would be my office manager; she is always understanding and willing to work with me in any situation. When I wanted to continue my education she worked my hours around my college and allowed me to be part-time. She has also given me advice

on how to better communicate with my co-workers and keep the work flow going because she has been working there for multiple years. My communications book also has a chapter that is completely on the concept of listening that I can read and become a better communicator (Alder & Elmhorst, pgs 58-75)

Recommendations I plan to improve my listening weakness at work by becoming truly acquainted with my coworkers each day by recognizing their work situation that day. I am not going to order them around, because I do have a fear of appearing Ignorant (Alder & Elmhorst, pg. 65). I really dont want my coworkers to think that I am some snob who enjoys ordering people around; I just want things to be done how and when they are suppose to be done. Instead I plan on becoming a more relational listener when I am at work, versus a task-oriented listener by trying to build better relationships with the people I work with (Alder & Elmhorst, pgs. 65-66). When I come into work in the afternoon I need to not judge others because I havent been working there all day long, like they have. To completely understand the work status situation, such as if there was a mess on the table, I should ask how the busy the day has been and maybe, a follow up question as to how their own individual work is going. Asking simple questions like these will help me better understand why the work place will look a certain way, and why people are acting a certain way. While asking these questions I can also look for visual cues as to how busy someone is (Alder & Elmhorst, pg. 71). If I see that while I am talking to one of my co-workers who seems to be rushing our conversation, or doesnt seem to be fully engaged, I could probably guess that they are behind on their work and really need to catch up. If this is the case, I can ask Do you need help with catching up on anything?. If they reply with yes, I will be more than happy to help them clean the office and file a few charts correctly. I think that this will help the office flow well and avoid getting behind on things, as well as building a great personal relationship with each other. It could even boost trust with one another, so if I got behind on something that co-worker will be more willing to help me. If the co-worker just replies no that they dont need help, I can presume that they will be getting to the other tasks later on. Sometimes, my co-workers will say that they didnt know that a task was their responsibility. At my work, we have work meetings once a month where we go over that areas we need to work on, and we get new responsibilities. It is our own responsibility to know what we are in charge of so the office can continue to run well with without problems. I think that if a person forgets to do their job once, they can have one do-over. I could just tell them as a simple friendly reminder that it needs to be done. If they dont do their job again the second time, I would talk to them on a personal level to ask them whats going on. I think the third time I would need anonymously report it to my office manager. It really bugs me when my co-workers dont pull their own weight at work, but I need to not let my egocentric view get in the way of communicating at work. Lastly, if my co-workers are completely aware that they are suppose to be doing a certain task, and are not busy doing other important work, and I have constantly reminded them that they need to do it, I think the problem should immediately be brought up with my office manager. It is not fair that

my office suffers because of one person. My work really means a lot to me, and I would like to improve my listening skills. I think that instead of causing arguments and destroying one anothers listening skills, a big problem should go straight to my boss so that they can help me better figure out how to solve the problem.

Summary I need to improve my listening skills at work so I can fully understand a situation, such as why files werent filed before my arrival, so work flow improves. Small important tasks were not being done in my office, and this really bothered me because I would have to finish them, or I would order my coworker to take care of their own responsibilities! This approach was not only damaging my relationship with the people I work with, but making work a more hectic place to be. Instead, I came up with a few solutions to help my situation. First, I need to be more understanding and mindful (Alder & Elmhorst, pg. 66) of my co-workers by listening to what they have to say, and not jumping to conclusions. If there was a mess on the desk, I would simply ask how their day was, and if they need any help cleaning anything up. I shouldnt judge someone because I havent been there all day, and I have no idea how busy the day has been. Next, I need to be more open with mistakes and less strict on the people in my office because no one is perfect. And lastly, if a constant problem occurs, instead of constantly reminding, I need to just bring the problem to with my office manager. She has been working there far longer than I have and will know how to fix a problem far better than I do. This technique will help me build relationships with my co-workers, and help me become a better listener in the long run.

Works Cited Ronald, Alder B., Elmhorst M. Jeanne, and Lucas Kristen. Comm 1010: Communicating at Work. 11th ed. N.p.: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2013. Print.