If you want good workplace relationships, you have to put the effort into cultivating them.

Being the type who always wants to get ahead, no matter what the cost, is unlikely to help with this. While it is commendable to have ambition and drive, many people won’t take kindly to this being at the expense of their own well-being or professional standing. If a supportive working environment is important to you, it is imperative that you think about the desires of those you work with, as well as your own.

Although many of us may consider this to be a pretty obvious point to make, that doesn’t stop many coworkers from being a pain to work with due to their pathological insistence that they can never be in the wrong. It is not an attractive quality in any context, but it can be particularly annoying when there is a job to be done, and they are of little help to the process. The fact is that people are not going to want to help you if you seem to be unwilling to help them, whether the work is involved or not. If you are going to act selfishly, you need some bargaining chips.