🧑🤝🧑 How many work friends do you have?
Or, the better question―how many SHOULD you have?
A few weeks ago, we shared a Monday Mavens edition surrounding the topic of return-to-work anxiety. We mentioned that people might be dreading to go back to the office due to either a fear or anxiety.
In this week’s edition, we are diving into one of the most common fears people might have when starting to work from the office again—the interactions with old or new colleagues.
People might already have a group of work friends they rely on and are excited to see again, but a lot of us could be unfamiliar with the space and unsure of how to navigate work friendships post-pandemic.
The stats and the fixes
A UK-based virtual offices provider, Rovva, asked 1,000 workers varying questions around friendships at work. It turns out that on average, an employee has just 4 friends at work. Only 45% said that they’ve made friends at a new workplace during the pandemic. And although 80% felt their colleagues made them feel welcome, 41% found it difficult to make friends at work under the new conditions.
If you feel like you’re one of those 41%, there are some ways you can do to ease your way into an already-existing friendship dynamics at work:
Set up calls with team members who can relay their experiences of the company and give insight into the company culture and working practices. (If you’re a Mekarian, you’re lucky to have it covered with our buddy system!)
Become more emotionally intelligent and self-aware; you can practice this by engaging yourself with mindful practices.
Develop more of a supportive and team-driven mindset, while still holding on to your ambition and competitiveness—find the right balance.
If you’re really struggling to speak to your colleagues and finding it difficult to make friends, try these simple steps:
Ask your colleagues about themselves.
Find things you have in common.
Attend work events.
Ask for help.
Inevitably, some people do work better alone, and while connecting with your colleagues is important, remember to allow people the space they need to be as happy and productive as possible at work.
Find the full Rovva report here, and read more on ways to form work friends here.
So, why should we even bother?
You know, making friends everywhere is not exactly everybody’s cup of tea. So why should those who prefer working alone, are shy, or naturally introverts have to put so much effort in making friends at work?
In a Harvard Business Review podcast, relationship expert, Shasta Nelson, breaks down why having work friends is worth it. The downsides of putting the effort could include concerns such as distractions, cliques, people feeling left out, and even favoritism. Nelson argues that even when you are opposed to friendship at work, it still won’t protect you from all those downsides.
Furthermore, if the company trains for it, encourages it, and fosters it, there is actually a very high likelihood that the gossip, favoritism, and misunderstandings will decrease. This is of course, when it’s done in the most healthy, appropriate way that benefits the workplace and the employees’ own personal lives.
Listen to the full 26-minute podcast here to learn more about why work friendships are critical to your success.
Not all colleagues are your friends
There is a reason why some people are skeptical about having work friends, or that 1 employee on average only has 4: personal boundaries. At work, you are not put in a team based on interests or hobbies, you are there to work and achieve your team’s goals.
Then, how can we utilize work friendships without it sabotaging our productivity? Here is a guideline made by Career Success Strategist, Jennifer Brick, for you:
Know where to draw the line. '
Not only should you be aware and communicate your boundaries between personal and professional lives, it is important to know those of your co-workers’ too.
Keep it superficial. Do not overshare information that would make you look unprofessional, like:
- Dating life outside of a committed relationship.
- Anything involving money (whether you have too much or too little of it).
- Family or friends drama.
- Unnecessary information about your health.
Say no to drama.
Remember to engage only with good gossip—where it keeps you in the know of things around the workplace, and avoid the bad gossip—which is anything that involves talking poorly about other people.
In the case that you might be stuck in a toxic work environment, please go to our past Monday Mavens edition here on what you can do to cope.
Watch the 11-minute YouTube video on how to keep your work friends professional and productive here.
Got any personal or professional concerns you’d like us to cover next? Shoot us a DM on Instagram @lifeatmekari and follow our LinkedIn to see if we’ve covered it in the past.
See you again next week, cheers!