Workplace Friendship: Managing Expectations

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Workplace friendship is similar to real-life friendship because it involves two or more people from different backgrounds with diverse experience, and exposure, and definitely, there will be expectations.

The expectation aspect is normal but you will most likely not get what you are expecting, at the same time, you can have zero expectations because you just want to get the job done, get paid, and move on to the next thing, and that’s also fine. It’s your life and your decision.

According to the 2021 Workplace Friendship & Happiness Survey by Wildgoose, 57% of people say having a best friend in the workplace makes work more enjoyable, 22% feel more productive with friends, and 21% say friendship makes them more creative.

I always advise that people don’t go to a workplace to make friends, it shouldn’t be your priority, and the reason is because

1. People take up a job for different reasons
2. People are first loyal to themselves
3. You were hired to grow the company not to make friends.

However, due to human nature, workplace relationship is inevitable, and that is why I wrote this piece to share how you can manage expectations. This is my opinion based on research and experiences,

Work Friendships: Letting Go and Moving On

How to Manage Workplace Friendship

1. Don’t see your colleagues as enemies. Yes, you may have a similar job description, but you have one common goal, and it’s best you work together to achieve that common goal. If you don’t have the capacity to support them, do not sabotage their efforts and result.
2. Set clear boundaries and communicate them to the concerned parties. Don’t assume they get the message you’re trying to pass across without you directly telling them. Remember we are coming from different backgrounds with varying degrees of exposure.
3. Establish a cordial relationships. It’s not compulsory for you to have an office bestie, but you can have a platonic relationship with them that doesn’t go beyond the workplace if you want., and you can also have a friendship that goes beyond the workplace.
4. Don’t mix work with your personal life. If you want, you can block your colleagues from following you on social media, it is your life and your decision. As much as they can seem friendly, don’t forget that people can be selfish and may decide to turn on you for their selfish benefit.

For the days when you will need a shoulder to lean on, for the days where you will need another person’s opinion that is not your boss or manager, for the days when you just need someone to rant to so you can feel better, for the days when you will need another person’s recommendation, and many more.

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Even if you may never meet them again, it doesn’t hurt to be kind to the people you work with. It also helps to reduce tension in the workplace and aids productivity.

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