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No one wants to be a jobsworth when it comes to being a manager, and being the boss of a business often gives us an air of authority that can be used properly and abused in equal measure. However, it’s finding a good balance between work and play with your employees that makes the workplace a lot more enjoyable to be in, and your employees a lot happier when receiving instructions. So if you’re looking to foster better relationships between you and your employees, here’s a couple of tips for your consideration. You know your workplace, so apply them where you can.

Set Boundaries from the Beginning

You want your workers to trust you, and crafting such a bond takes time and good planning. It’s most easily done however by creating acceptable boundaries, as a constant flow of give and take often breaks a lot of trust on both sides. Don’t be an overbearing boss that your employees need to set boundaries specifically in return for; keep work to work hours and keep your expectations realistic.

Ending up with needing to run a disciplinary trial or other such behavior extremes can be avoided when you’re firm but fair from the beginning, so check out www.elliswhittam.com for ways to put this into practice. Knowing what you can and can’t do as a boss to lead your more errant employees in the right direction means you’re less likely to make a mistake that can damage a career, and keep them around for longer to do good work.

Recognize Achievements

Everyone likes receiving praise, and no one will appreciate this more than your employees when they do a good job. Being able to pinpoint to them what they’ve done right and where they could improve is great in terms of constructive criticism, but make sure it’s fair and really could help them.

No one appreciates being shouted at or being sent passive aggressive emails, so be outright with what you want to say so a message is clearly gotten across. Otherwise you may never get a proper result in the tasks you set them; words have different meaning for all people after all.

Get Feedback

We don’t know we’re doing things right unless people tell us, so make sure you get the feedback from the people you work with on how your run your business concerning them. You can do this via an anonymous survey, really allowing people to be honest with what they want to say to you, or you can ask them in person.

This is often a more personal touch, as we can see people’s body language at the same time, which helps to show up how they interact with you. Don’t let it become a formal occasion, and make sure they know no harm to their job will come out of it.

If you think you’re a good boss, make sure you really are in how you act towards your employees. Wanting better is a good sign!