What do you think about the idea of having close friends in your workplace?
Do you think it’s a great idea or do you think it’s a big mistake?
There are good points on both sides of the argument, because having close friends at work can help you become happier in your role, it increases job satisfaction, boosts morale, and as a result, productivity is on the rise. Of course, this helps to boost a team working environment and may even create more ideas around the oval boardroom table.
On the downside? Friends argue and do things wrong occasionally, so how do you deal with that in a working environment, when you have to remain professional at all times?
Check out this video, in which a few very good points are made.
What do you think about that? It’s certainly a truth that you should not share everything about your life with your co-workers. You might think that sounds harsh, but what if they don’t agree with your choices and make a big deal out of it in the workplace? What if you tell them a secret and they betray your trust? How are you supposed to work closely with them without your personal feelings being called into question?
Many workplaces frown upon, or even forbid, personal relationships of a romantic nature in the workplace, for this very reason, so should we extend this to close friendships?
Perhaps that’s taking it a little too far, but you should certainly be mindful and maybe keep your barriers up just a little. Working closely with friends can be difficult because there are always going to be minor disagreements in the workplace, and if they spill over into your friendship, you could find that ruined as a result too. In reality, colleagues can be half-friends, but never 100% true friends, at least not if you’re working in close proximity to one another.
What do you think about that point?
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It’s important to maintain boundaries if you want to remain professional and impress at work. If you're constantly dealing with friendship issues and trying not to upset anyone, you're not going to be able to focus on your job and your manager will notice.
Of course, you could argue the other side too. Having close friends at work motivations you to go into the office every day and sit at your office desks. It makes you feel as though you’re part of something bigger than yourself and that can push you to work that little bit harder than you would otherwise. It can make the day go faster, and basically make everything more positive and fun. But, there have to be boundaries in place if you want to be successful in your job and maintain an air of professionalism at the same time.
All of this certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t have colleagues who you call friends, perhaps those who you head out for with a drink after work occasionally, or you link up on social media. This helps in terms of job satisfaction, for sure, but it doesn’t mean you should be looking to form extremely close friendships within the sometimes difficult office environment, if you want them to last and if you want your career to be successful.
All it takes is to maintain a boundary and don’t cross it. Keep a little of yourself back and don’t sit giving your life story around the office tub chairs! If you can do this, you’ll be able to have deep and fulfilling working relationships with your colleagues, which don’t interfere with your personal life or your work. All of this is hugely impressive to your manager, gives you less of a headache, but also allows you to enjoy the welcoming environment of an office which contains people you genuinely get along with.