Target Selection and Task Analysis:

How can you break this skill down?

Within Managing Interpersonal Relationships in the Workplace, the student has developed a framework for understanding ‘friend’ vs. ‘co-worker.’ The practice in that topic focuses on initiating and responding to requests for social activity outside of work. It provides rules for how and when to initiate or respond to requests for social activity. Within the framework is a set of rules to guide the individual in identifying shared interests and in gauging the interest of another person in social interaction outside of work. In other words, the framework helps the individual compensate for any limitations in perspective-taking.
This framework is the base for managing romantic interests as well. Expanding the concepts by adding details and by expanding the rules for workplace interactions is the objective here. The significant difference here is the delineation of topics and behaviors that are ‘off limits’ at work. The rules are defined explicitly so that embarrassing errors in perspective-taking and in social judgment can be avoided, thereby supporting career success.

The ‘building blocks’ are essentially the same in this topic:

Provide a basic definition of “friendship” = a relationship occurring outside of work between people who share personal interests, discuss personal issues, and enjoy engaging in shared activities at home, in the community, on-line, and other informal settings. This includes romantic interactions and romantic discussions.

*A definition of ‘romantic friend’ (your choice of label should be agreed upon by the student!) will be added here to the framework. The interactions with friends who may be romantic occur outside of work. Shared personal issues, interests and activities are also outside of work and may involve shared personal space (outside the parameters of Maintaining Personal Space). It is necessary to define ‘romantic friend’ (or your chosen label) so that the individual can see that the rules at work remain the same and that shared activity occurs outside of work whether with friends or romantic friends.

Provide a basic definition of “co-worker” = a relationship occurring within the work environment (at work or at locations pertaining to work) between people who cooperate to meet the needs of the employer, engage to accomplish job-related tasks, and who limit engaging in personal interests, discussing personal issues or engaging in any discussions that interfere with work performance.

Build on the framework for interacting with co-workers on the job:

  1. Identify topics of conversation
    *Add sexual or romantic topics not discussed at work / identify what can be discussed
    *Add behaviors not demonstrated at work / identify physical behaviors that can occur
    *Add questions or topics that can be opened at “time to talk at work” that can then be discussed outside of work
  2. Identify times to talk
  3. Identify limits in personal interaction at work

The last two building blocks of that task analysis are:

  1. Establish the framework for initiating an invitation to a co-worker to a social/shared activity and
  2. Establish the framework for responding to a request from a co-worker to a social activity.
    Initiating an invitation provides parameters for when, where and how to initiate a request for ‘shared activity outside of work’ along with guidelines for dealing with acceptance and rejection. Responding to a request provides guidelines for accepting or rejecting an offer in clear terms. In both cases, emphasize that it is not appropriate ever to discuss physical or personal interaction at work. If the student asks someone at work during break to go to a shared activity, stick with the invitation. Discuss the details other than time, place and appropriate ‘friend’ activity outside of work. If invited to a shared activity with someone who may be romantically interested, discuss only time and place to meet and an appropriate ‘friend’ activity while at work. Avoid any discussion of shared physical space or of shared personal information while at work.

What sub-skill should you target first for the student to initiate? Given what the student can do presently, how will you present the task so that the student can perform steps within his capacity while learning a new step? 

In this topic, the instructor is building on the existing skills of the student in determining interest of others at work for shared activity. A definition of the ‘romantic friend’ is likely to be the first step. The definition of the ‘romantic friend’ is necessary to give guidance on how to avoid misunderstandings at work.

Romantic relationships result from friendships: this is a safe rule of thumb that can guide the student. By following the guidelines for shared activity outside of work, the student can develop friends with a potential for more personal involvement. But it is recommended that the instructor avoid any instruction on what to do outside of the work environment! Helping the student to see that using the guidelines for Managing Interpersonal Relationships at Work can protect him and his job is our goal.

Second, the student will need expansion of the list of things that are not to be discussed at work. This is to protect the student from misunderstanding and from misreading signals of ‘shared’ romantic interest. Delineating personal and physical interactions that should occur outside of work can be combined with a third element: practicing appropriate self-restraint in verbal and behavioral initiations and responses to ‘personal’ interactions at work.