Human Relations

Why Human Relations?

So, what is human relations? We can define human relations as relations with or between people,

particularly in a workplace or professional setting. [1] From a personal perspective, there are many

advantages to having good human relations skills. First, of the top ten reasons people are fired, several

reasons relate back to lack of human relations skills—for example, the inability to work within a team,

personality issues, sexual harassment, and dishonesty. [2] Other reasons, perhaps not directly related to

human relations, include absenteeism, poor performance, stealing, political reasons, downsizing, and

sabotage. Second, people who are competent team players and have a good work ethic tend to get

promoted faster. [3] In fact, according to guru on personal development Brian Tracy, 85 percent of your

success in life is determined by social skills and the ability to interact positively and effectively with

others. [4] Another reason to develop good relationships with others relates to your own personal

happiness.

Consider John, a very talented project manager but lacking in human relations skills. While he is easily

able to plan and execute the finest details for a project, no one likes to work with him. He doesn’t make

efforts to get to know his team members and he comes across as unfriendly and unapproachable. How

successful do you think John will be in his workplace? While he has the skills necessary to do the job, he

doesn’t have the people skills that can help him excel at it. One could say he does not have emotional

intelligence skills—that is, the ability to understand others—therefore, he may always find himself

wondering why he isn’t more successful at work. While project management skills are something we can learn, managers find

it difficult to hire people without the soft skills, or human relations skills. We aren’t saying that skills are

not important, but human relations skills are equally as important as technical skills to determine career

and personal success. Consider human relations skills in your personal life, as this is equally important.

Human relations skills such as communication and handling conflict can help us create better

relationships. For example, assume Julie talks behind people’s backs and doesn’t follow through on her

promises. She exhibits body language that says “get away from me” and rarely smiles or asks people about

themselves. It is likely that Julie will have very few, if any, friends. If Julie had positive human relations

skills, there is a much better chance she could improve her personal relationships.

We can benefit personally and professionally from good human relations skills, but how do organizations

benefit? Since many companies’ organizational structures depend upon people working together, positive

human relations skills reduce conflict in the workplace, thereby making the workplace more

productive. Organizational structures refer to the way a company arranges people, jobs, and

communications so that work can be performed. In today’s business world, teams are used to accomplish

company goals because teamwork includes people with a variety of skills. When using those skills in a

team, a better product and better ideas are usually produced. In most businesses, to be successful at our

job, we need to depend on others. The importance of human relations is apparent in this setting. If people

are not able to get along and resolve conflicts, the organization as a whole will be less productive, which

could affect profitability. Many organizations empower their employees; that is, they give employees

freedom in making decisions about how their work gets done. This can create a more motivated