Professionalism in workplace communication; how formal should you

Working in an environment that demands us to be formal can be quite a task. We, as people when to talk to our family and friends are different to how we are at our workplace. When we talk to our boss and also when we talk to our colleagues, we behave professionally because the place demands so. But how professional and how formal one must be at their workplace?

It completely depends in which field you work and what your position is and how much time have you spent there. A lot of times what happens is, little factors and minor things decide how you behave and how professional you are. For example, if you have a good relationship with your boss, you tend to be a little informal and open, but you have just joined and barely know them, you would be as formal as possible.

The transition always happens slowly and steadily from extremely formal and professional to acquaintances to friends. Sometimes transition takes time, sometimes it doesn’t ever happen. It depends from person to person and company to company as well. Even though there are a few advantages of being a little informal and friendly as it develops a mutual trust and loyalty for the company in the employee’s mind which proves to be very beneficial.

There should always be a balance of formal and friendly. Too formal may lead the employee being scared of their bosses, which one wouldn’t want and too friendly may lead the employee taking everything for granted. Striking the right balance where the employee and the head have a mutual trust and respect for each other id very important.

Every person is different. It may take some time for someone to open up and it may take very little for someone else. A lot things depend on the individual and how he/she interacts with someone. But yes, balance is extremely vital. A good and cordial relationship between a boss and an employee is very important as it affects the productivity at the workplace.