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Experts say making friends at work not only increases work satisfaction, but it also increases your chance of success. It’s time to stop trying to keep our work life and our personal life separate and learn to embrace office friendships. Writer Emma Bullen shares the benefits of having a workplace buddy system.
When I first started managing a team, I had so much work to do that I made little time for my work friends. The more I skipped lunch to work harder at my role and the later hours I worked, I noticed something interesting start to happen. I began to feel lonely, demotivated, and crazy stressed. It didn’t help that I sat in an office by myself.
Gallup sites that having friends at work increases employee satisfaction and productivity. That’s good for business, but it’s also great for the success of your career.
What are work friends for?
Understanding and support
Your work friend is usually the one person in the office who is willing to be completely honest with you. They’ll improve your quality of work by calling you out when you could have tried harder, and will be first to tell you when you should keep your mouth shut. Plus, they’ll know how to give you feedback in a way that you’ll hear it.
Improving performance
Does Kevin in HR keep asking you if you have a best friend in the office? There’s a reason for that. If you have a best friend, you’re seven times more likely to fully engage in your job. In other words, having lunch with Laura from Community Support just once a month could make you more productive. Thanks, Laura.
Being your cheerleaders
Got a big meeting coming up? Maybe you’re giving a webinar, or having a meeting with your manager about adding more responsibility to your role. Working on a strategy together and getting a pep talk before you go in to that meeting can both raise your confidence and keep you accountable. Plus, your work bestie will be there to celebrate your success when you completely rock it.
Making you look good
Your work friends can increase the perceived opinion of your contribution by 27 per cent. When it comes to performance review, that perception matters, particularly if you’re getting 360-degree feedback from your colleagues.
Helping you chill the @#$% out
You can accomplish a whole lot more when you keep your stress levels down to a minimum. Employees who have best friends at work are said to be much better at managing stress compared to employees that were subjected to the same amount of stress who don’t make time to socialize. Read that as after work beers are good for you.
Helping you hate your job less
When you’re surrounded by friends, work becomes more than just a day job. You start engaging more in your work, your community, and your company. Everyone who joined a company with the intent of staying six months, which turned into six years can tell you that friends can turn a short-term job into a career.
Making friends as an adult can be tough, but it’s easier to find things in common with someone when you’re chasing similar dreams. So, email one of your colleagues today and suggest a lunch outing. You’ll be surprised what a difference having a friend makes.
Emma is a writer and editor with 15 years of experience in print, web, and mobile publishing. British by birth and Canadian by residence, she is passionate about learning, storytelling — and em dashes.
Has making friends in the workplace contributed to your work success? We’d like to hear from you! Share your stories and give a shout out to your work buddies in the comments section below.