Exploring Relationships
For most of us, our relationships are an important part of who we are. Think of the last time an important person came into your life and the impact that they had! Most of us learn a great deal in our early lives from the people we are closest to, and our experience of a place is often heavily influenced by the people we were surrounded by at the time.
In our day-to-day lives, we move between many different kinds of relationships and these have different expectations attached. Most of us know those expectations without discussing it outwardly but we know when those have gone wrong somewhere. For example, imagine your friend suddenly ordering you around as your boss might, or someone you don’t know that well giving you a hug the way a family member might. You’d be pretty shocked!
Looking below, there are some of the most common kinds of relationships described and labelled. Can you put together the right description with its label? Please note all relationships are unique so these are described in “best fit” terms.
| Family relationships | A group who often live together and or/related by blood. Often have an agreed idea of how to live and shared characteristics |
| Work relationships | People who have a shared purpose and a relationship that is based on mutual respect and efficiency. |
| Romantic relationships | A relationship based on deep intimacy, trust and understanding, most often taking place in pairs. |
| Friendships | Two or more people with similar interests or values who spend time for mutual pleasure and learning. |
| Acquaintances | A casual relationship based on non-intimate encounters. |
When things go wrong in relationships
Sometimes the relationships we engage with can meet with obstacles. These obstacles can often come when the “rules” of the relationship change, or when you and the other person have a different perspective on what the “rules” of your relationship are. When you volunteer, it can be especially easy to misunderstand because different cultures can have different ways of relating, and everyone that you meet is new!
Watch this video and take a moment to reflect on some of the reasons why relationships meet obstacles:
Reflecting on the video, which would you say will be are your biggest concerns about relationships and how do you think it will affect you during your placement? You can tick as many as you want to
- Handling disagreements with fellow volunteers
- Living with people from different cultural backgrounds
- Maintaining professional boundaries with local community
- Dealing with behavior that conflicts with my values
- Speaking up when something doesn’t feel right
- Shyness/the liking gap
- Changes to distance (either moving away or being too close)
- Competition
- Trusting new people
Making relationships better
During your exchange, you’re likely to come across any and all of the relationships that we have covered so far…of course, you’ll also come up against a lot of the complications that we outlined too. We will look more at specific ways to tackle problems with relationships in our “solving problems” section but, in the padlet below, it would be good to reflect on some of the principles that will help you avoid difficult relationships
