Inspiration comes in many forms, and this week it came to me in the shape of the men and women I work with. About midweek, I was chatting with a coworker about a personal concern, and she offered to help. I accepted and thought how awesome she was for caring and offering help.

This made me think about my current and past coworkers. I have been lucky to have worked and still work with some of the best people I know. I’ve had two main jobs, totaling 18 years of work experience, and still stay in touch with people I worked with 15 years ago. In my current job, I have a dozen or so I would want to stay in touch with if any of us changed jobs or moved.

But what makes memorable and good coworkers? Aside from who they are and how our differences and similarities bond us, here’s a list of things to do to make the workplace better and build good coworking relationships:

Listen. People love to talk about themselves. We do it all the time at RevPub! Therefore, you should listen to them. Most times, if people think you actually care about what they’re saying, they’ll open up. Now, if you don’t want them to, that’s okay too. In that case, don’t expect them to want to know you if you don’t want the same. No one gets along with everyone.

Work hard. Thankfully, I can say everyone I work with works hard – all the time. That has not always been the case. At the store, if a cashier or stocker was lazy, they didn’t last long. Either they quit because they had to work harder or they got fired because everyone had to pull their weight. Other people resented them, morale dropped, and it caused problems for management.

Laugh. I love when my coworkers laugh, especially if it has been a long day. It makes me smile even if I don’t know what they’re laughing about. Sometimes they share, sometimes they don’t, but it doesn’t matter because laughter breaks up the monotony of the day. Laughter helps reduce stress, and if you laugh hard enough, can be a great ab workout.

Share. I recently received a fun email about cold offices and what cold-natured people go through in order to work in them. It was SO true, so I sent it to my fellow freezers. Sure, there’s Facebook and Twitter, but most of us don’t have time to stay on those sites. Therefore, when there’s a funny article or awesome success story, we share it. Many times this causes No. 3, and we get through the day better off than we were before.

Try not to gossip. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but keep it to a minimum. If you wouldn’t say it to their face, it probably doesn’t need to be said. Also, if a coworker confides in you, keep it to yourself unless given permission to share. And always ask for permission. I am very thankful I have always had coworkers I could confide in, and they have helped me through some tough times, such as family and pet passings and school stress.

I know many of my coworkers will read this because they are big supporters of the site. I want them to know how much I appreciate their support and hard work. And to all those people who try to be coworkers, thank you for making all workplaces better places. If you have some great coworker stories, feel free to share in the comments below!