Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Coworkers

Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive and supportive, pushing the protagonist to positive growth and helping them achieve their goals. Other relationships do exactly the opposite, derailing your character’s confidence and self-worth or they cause friction and conflict that leads to fallout and disruption. Many relationships hover somewhere in the middle. A balanced story will require a mix of these dynamics.

The purpose of this thesaurus is to encourage you to explore the kinds of relationships that might be good for your story and figure out what each might look like. Think about what a character needs (good and bad), and build a network of connections for him or her that will challenge them, showcase their innermost qualities, and bind readers to their relationship trials and triumphs.

The following is just a sample of the content available for this relationship. To see it in its entirety (along with 45+ additional relationship entries), check out our Description Thesaurus Collection at One Stop For Writers.

Coworkers

Description: This is one pretty much everyone has had experience with. Whether you work in an office, from home, or a combination of the two, there are people at work that we have to interact with. Think back on your own experiences to help bring this relationship to life for your characters in an authentic and compelling way.

Relationship Dynamics:
Each relationship is different, depending on the people involved, their history together, their individual personalities, and a host of factors. Below are a wide range of dynamics that can accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict.

Fostering an environment of cooperation
Recognizing the strengths other people bring to the table
Seeing co-workers as part of the team rather than threats or rivals
Respecting the established workplace hierarchy
Respecting personal boundaries
Maintaining an attitude of professionalism
Being tolerant of differences

Clashing Personality Trait Combinations:
Analytical and Empathetic, Bold and Cautious, Cooperative and Uncooperative, Oversensitive and Tactless, Decisive and Indecisive, Efficient and Flaky, Industrious and Lazy, Organized and Disorganized, Manipulative and Gullible

Negative Outcomes of Friction
Decreased productivity at work
Reprimands (being placed on suspension or given a bad performance review)
The character gaining the reputation of not being a team player

Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Growth
Being inspired by a partner (to pursue education to improve in an area of weakness, to strive for a better work-life balance, etc.)
Being pushed by a partner to move past complacency and take healthy risks for the business 

Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
A Fall from Grace, Betrayal, Crossroads, Deception, Greed, Inflexibility, Perseverance, Recognition, Refuge, Rite of Passage, Sacrifice, Stagnation, Teamwork

Other Relationship Thesaurus entries can be found here.

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