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R is for Relationships That Speed Up Work
Welcome! This article is part of an A–Z series where I’m sharing reflections on the patterns I keep seeing in teams, leadership and workplace culture.
Not theory. Not tips. Just observations from real working life.
I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships at work lately.
Not the kind that make the company Christmas party slightly less awkward, (although those are useful too), I mean the everyday working relationships that quietly determine how easily things get done.
The relationship between a manager and their team member. Between two colleagues who need something from each other. Between departments that depend on one another. Between a leader and someone who is prepared to challenge them.
Because one of the things I notice repeatedly is this: good relationships can make work feel faster. Not because people are rushing. Not because there are fewer things to do. But because there is less friction.
When I trust you, I don't need to spend quite so much time working out how to approach you. I can ask the question. I can pick up the phone. I can say, "I've got a problem - can you help me?" I can tell you that something isn't working without worrying that you'll take it personally. And you can do the same with me. That saves time. It also saves energy.
We often talk about productivity as though it is mainly about systems, technology, processes and efficiency. And, of course, those things matter. But there is another kind of efficiency that is much harder to measure: relational efficiency.
How quickly can we get to the real issue?
How comfortable are we asking for help?
How much time do we spend second-guessing each other?
How often do things get stuck because two people aren't talking?
How much unnecessary checking, escalation and explanation happens because there isn't enough trust?
These things don't always show up on a spreadsheet, but I see them show up in the way teams work.
The UK evidence backs up the importance of this. The CIPD's 2025 Good Work Index found that 91% of employees who said their line manager respects them as a person reported that they achieve their job objectives, compared with 75% among those who didn't feel respected. Similarly, 92% of employees who felt their manager recognised good work said they achieved their objectives, compared with 76% where they didn't feel recognised.
That doesn't prove that a good relationship automatically creates productivity. But it does tell us something important: how people experience their relationships with managers is connected with how effectively they feel they can do their work.
And I think this becomes even more interesting when we look at conflict.
Acas found that 44% of working-age people in Great Britain experienced conflict at work in the previous 12 months. That's a huge number of people spending some of their working life navigating disagreement, difficult relationships or disputes.
Of course, disagreement isn't necessarily a bad thing. Healthy teams disagree. They challenge ideas. They have different perspectives. They won't always see things in the same way. The issue is what happens next.
In a relationship with enough trust, I can disagree with you and still know that we are on the same side. I can challenge your idea without questioning your character. I can say, "I don't think that's going to work," without the conversation becoming a battle about who is right.
That distinction matters enormously.
Because when relationships are fragile, ordinary work becomes harder.
A small misunderstanding takes three emails instead of one conversation. A question becomes an assumption. An assumption becomes a story. A story becomes frustration. And suddenly something that could have been sorted in ten minutes has taken three days and involved four other people. I've seen this happen. I've probably done it myself - I think most of us have.
The opposite is also true.
I've watched teams where people know each other well enough to be direct. Someone spots a problem and raises it immediately. Someone else says, "I hadn't thought about it that way." A third person picks up the piece they can help with. The issue gets resolved.
No drama. No blame. No lengthy meeting to work out why everyone is frustrated. Just people who have enough of a relationship to get on with the work.
This is particularly relevant now that so many teams are working in different ways. Hybrid working can give people greater flexibility - CIPD research found that 41% of employers believe increased home or hybrid working has improved productivity or efficiency - but organisations are also thinking hard about how to maintain connection, collaboration and relationships when people aren't physically together every day.
I don't think the answer is simply "get everyone back into the office".
Relationships don't magically appear because we are sitting in the same building.
I've been in offices where people sit ten feet apart and barely speak to one another.
Relationships are built through the small moments: the check-in before the meeting, the conversation after something has gone wrong, the willingness to help, the curiosity to understand someone else's perspective, the occasional laugh, the follow-through when you say you'll do something.
Over time, those moments create something: Trust. And trust is one of those things we tend to notice most when it isn't there. When it is there, we move. We make decisions more quickly. We ask questions sooner. We share information. We admit mistakes. We ask for help. We challenge things before they become bigger problems.
We don't need to protect ourselves quite so much. And that, for me, is where relationships speed up work. They remove some of the invisible obstacles between people.
I don't think this means that everyone at work needs to be best friends. Quite the opposite. We don't need to like everyone we work with, and we certainly don't need to have the same personality, interests or opinions.
What we do need is enough mutual respect and trust to work well together.
For me, the healthiest workplace relationships aren't necessarily the warmest or most sociable ones.
They are the ones where people can be honest.
Where you can say, "I need more information."
Where you can say, "I got that wrong."
Where you can say, "I don't agree."
Where you can say, "Can you help me?"
And where the answer doesn't become a judgement about who you are. Because when those relationships exist, work gets lighter.
Not necessarily easier.
Not necessarily less busy.
But there is less wasted energy.
And perhaps that's something worth paying more attention to when we talk about productivity. Sometimes the quickest route to getting the work done isn't another process, another meeting or another piece of technology.
Sometimes it's taking the time to build the relationship that means, when the work really matters, we can get on with it together.
If this resonated, it’s probably because you’re seeing it too.
Philippa x
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