Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

It’s always good to have a peer that you can run to when you have a question or need advice. Because
this person has no direct authority over you, you can informally interact with this person without fear of
reproach if these relationships are healthy. We’ll discuss what happens when you have nonhealthy relationships
in the next section.
Sources of Information
Second, we use our peer coworker relationships as sources of information. One of our coauthors worked
in a medical school for a while. Our coauthor quickly realized that there were some people he could talk
to around the hospital who would gladly let him know everything that was going on around the place.
One important caveat to all of this involves the quality of the information we are receiving. By information
quality, Sias refers to the degree to which an individual perceives the information they are receiving
as accurate, timely, and useful. Ever had that one friend who always has great news, that everyone else
heard the previous week? Not all information sources provide you with quality information. As such, we
need to establish a network of high-quality information sources if we are going to be successful within an
organizational environment.
Issues of Power
Third, we engage in coworker relationships as an issue of power. Although two coworkers may exist
in the same run within an organizational hierarchy, it’s important also to realize that there are informal
sources of power as well. In the next chapter, we are going to explore the importance of power within
interpersonal relationships in general. For now, we’ll say that power can help us influence what goes on
within our immediate environments. However, power can also be used to control and intimidate people,
which is a huge problem in many organizations.
Social Support
The fourth reason we engage in peer coworker relationships is social support. For our purposes, let’s
define as the perception and actuality that an individual receives assistance and care from
those people within their life. Let’s face it; there’s a reason corporate America has been referred to as a
concrete jungle, a circus, or a theatre of the absurd. Even the best organization in the world can be trying
at times. The best boss in the world will eventually get under your skin about something. We’re humans;
we’re flawed. As such, no organization is perfect, so it’s always important to have those peer coworkers
we can go to who are there for us. One of our coauthors has a coworker who they call whenever our
coauthor needs to be “talked off the ledge.” Our coauthor likes higher education and loves being a
professor, but occasionally something happens, and our coauthor needs to vent to about something
that has occurred. For the most part, our coauthor doesn’t want their coworker to solve a problem;
our coauthor just wants someone to listen. We all need to de-stress in the workplace, and having peer
coworker relationships is one way we do this.
In addition to the four characteristics discussed by Sias, Jessica Methot argue that three other features are
also important: trust, relational maintenance, and ability to focus. 32
Trust
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Interpersonal Communication