Social Interaction is the Downfall of Business? - Jack Smith

Social Interaction is the Downfall of Business?

Since the summer after my freshman year of high school, I have worked various jobs including being a lifeguard, a pressure washer, camp counselor, and a real estate analyst. My positions may vary drastically from hard labor to excel spreadsheet creation, but there is one factor that stands out from job to job, communication. Regardless what job you wish to work, you will need to have the ability to communicate effectively with your coworkers, bosses, and or employees.

Over the summer of 2019, I started an LLC with several of my friends from high school. We jumped off to a rocky start and soon got the hang of it. As the summer continued, we hit several rough spots due to a lack of communication or negative communication. I began to be stressed out not knowing whether I would be paid the next day. Another stressful aspect started when we began spending a few days working and a few days advertising. We spent a portion of the money we had just made on acquiring more business. The stress caused me to be mean, short, and not communicate well with my friends. The slightest inconvenience caused outbursts of anger and detrimental comments. However, everything changed when I went to a fraternity sponsored leadership conference. I learned many things about being a leader, but what stood out was the ability to communicate kindly and effectively with those around you. Upon returning to work, I no longer yelled or demeaned my friends for asking questions multiple times or messing up something large or small. I learned that regardless whether how much they annoyed me or messed up, the issue was present and tackling it in good spirits is much more effective than tackling it with anger. For example, if one of my broke a piece of equipment, I would offer to keep working while they go fix the issue instead of yelling at them for it. Regardless, the issue needed to be fixed and yelling at them does not accomplish anything positive.

This same concept needs to be applied across all business platforms. If an employee messes up on accident, the problem needs to be fixed regardless of how you react. If you react in a kind manor, they will respect you and strive hard not to mess up again.

Thus, within an office, social interaction is very positive in certain manors. Kind, lighthearted interactions are positive for the office environment and often help lead to a more productive office environment while joking around and hateful speech in the office is negative and often leads to a less productive office environment. Offices are more productive and innovative when proper social interactions are common.