Would you like to have a better atmosphere where you work—one with more unity? I’m examining what you can do—as one person—to improve the atmosphere at your job. And that mainly means what you can do to work well with others.

We hear lots of comments about how difficult workplaces are these days. With the scarcity of jobs and many companies asking more work from less employees, it can feel like you are trapped in a job you don’t like, and you have no hope of escaping. But I want to challenge you to try to improve the place you’re in. As a Christian, a true follower of Jesus Christ, your first priority is to represent Christ well where you work, regardless of the circumstances.

I’ve made two suggestions that may help. Here’s number three: Never ambush your coworkers or boss. For example, if you bring up a problem in a departmental meeting and it’s the first time your boss or the people involved have heard about it, then you may have blindsided them. They may interpret that to mean you’re trying to make them look bad. Always discuss issues first with the people directly involved.

Not only will that prevent you from appearing to ambush them, but you’ll likely learn a different perspective of the situation.

In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines (Proverbs 18:17).

We’ve all witnessed times when someone forcefully presented their case, expressed their opinion, pointed their fingers, and then when the facts were fully revealed, they were made to look foolish.

To have unity where you work, there needs to be trust. Trust is built over time, and the little things you do—or don’t do—daily will create a firm belief in the minds of your coworkers as to whether they can trust you. Are there not some people on your job you simply don’t trust? This should never be the perception our coworkers have of you as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

It was said of Daniel that his coworkers could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent (Daniel 6:4). A distinguishing mark of a Christian in a secular workplace should be we never ambush others, and we are very trustworthy.