Developing and maintaining good working relationships with your co-workers not only makes your workplace more enjoyable, but studies have shown that increasing workplace cohesiveness increases productivity too. Consider the following list of Rituals of Connection with Co-Workers taken from The Relationship Cure by psychologist John Gottman. Some may already be a part of your workplace, but if not, consider adding them to enhance your work life relationships.

Introductions: How new employees are introduced and oriented in their first hours and days on the job can make a huge impact on feelings and job performance. If your company does not have a formal procedure for introducing new hires to everyone and training them on office policies and procedures, consider developing an informal welcoming committee with your co-workers. Decide who is going to introduce the new person to everyone else, who is going to help him or her find or requisition supplies and set up their desk, and who is going to point out the most relevant policies and procedures for dress and office behavior. Including little bits and pieces of personal information during introductions to those people the new person will be working most closely with helps that person to feel more welcome and integrate into the new workplace much more quickly and easily.

Arrivals and departures: No matter how busy or grumpy you are, take a few minutes to say hello and good-bye to your co-workers. While you don’t want to spend an hour venting about your commute or your boss, a hello and comment about how crowded the train was this morning can help you diffuse and can also help build relationships. Don’t forget to share the positive too (such as sharing about your child’s upcoming birthday party or your anniversary dinner with your spouse).

Team Meetings: It is important to take responsibility to be fully present and attentive at meetings whether you love them or hate them. If you have concerns about the way a project is going, it is your responsibility to share that in whatever manner is appropriate in your company. If you are the one running the meeting, it can be a good strategy to briefly have everyone check in about how they are feeling about the project you are discussing. This is not group therapy time, nor is it time to discuss other issues related to your company or office. The objective is to openly get everyone’s sense of how the project is going and any concerns they may have. While it may sound risky, it is a good way to hear about any problems before they get out of hand.

Bulletin Boards, staff newsletters, and intranet newsgroups: These do take time to maintain, but they can be great team builders and good ways to maintain communication around the office. Bulletin boards can include a theme each month where one month each employee may be asked to bring a baby picture of themselves and everyone else has to guess who’s who. Another month people can post pictures of their last vacation. January is the perfect month for pictures of December office celebrations. And in December all the new babies born to employees in the past year can be posted.

Birthday celebrations: This gives each person a chance to feel special during the year. In larger companies, having each smaller work unit celebrate its birthdays together makes for a more intimate gathering rather than just another obligation. Some companies also celebrate all the birthdays of a particular month together as part of a pot luck luncheon on the first or last Friday of the month. The important thing is to make it an opportunity to recognize each other and make the birthday person feel special.