Monthly Archives: July 2023

Having friends at work that have your back, support you when you need it most, and understand the specific issues and challenges of the job are some of the best ways to boost professional satisfaction.

Socializing and getting to know people at work on a personal level is one of the keys to feeling connected to the organization or company. While there are potential challenges in befriending colleagues, most people find that spending time with people at work offers far more benefits than any potential downsides.

Increased Collaborative Efforts  

One of the challenges with today’s hybrid or remote work models, or even those team members that are 100% at work, is the lack of feeling connected with others on the team, department, or company.

Finding out about people and who they are outside of work creates a more welcoming and collaborative work environment. It is also a way for individuals in the group to feel comfortable making suggestions and volunteering to do tasks and activities that align with their natural talents and areas of specialized knowledge or skills.

Friendships also help facilitate people working together on projects. This not only increases efficiency but also makes the project more engaging, creative, and innovative. At the same time, group members feel valued, recognized, and you also have this same positive collaborative experience.

Positive Workplace Culture

When friendships occur across different departments, teams, and throughout the company, everyone feels more connected and a part of the complete workplace culture. Often these types of friendships are sparked during conferences, trainings, and team events planned through professional development days.

Having friends in the company or business also makes it easier to address problems before they become mountains. Speaking with friends who are trusted colleagues when making decisions or planning helps you have information and options specific to your workplace.

Empathy and Support

Having a friend at work also allows you to receive empathy from someone who understands the specific issues around the problem you are facing. This is difficult for someone who is not in your professional field or who does not understand other parties involved. At the same time, they are also there to cheer you on when you reach a milestone or have a positive experience.

Workplace friends often spend time together outside of work, but this is not always the case. The wonderful thing about friendship is that you can define the boundaries and create the space that works for you both.

Looking back to your childhood, it is very likely that making friends, or at least having one good friend, was a relatively easy process. This friend or group of friends were likely kids in your neighborhood that went to the same school and may have been in your classes.

As adults, it is not as easy to find friends, and psychologists and sociologists have researched this phenomenon. The most challenging aspect adults report in making new friends is problems with trusting other people. Other factors include lack of time and commitment issues with work and family and simply not being in an environment with like-minded people.

While it is true that adults don’t gather on the playground like kids, there are ways to plan and structure interactions with people in your community that have similar interests. Volunteering with a charity, organization, or community help is a structured way to spend time with others doing positive, fun, and helpful things. In addition, you already have a sense of trust in the mission or the goals of the organization, and it is safe to assume that others that volunteer are also supporting those objectives.

The Benefits of Volunteering

In addition to making friends and connecting with others working for the organization, volunteering also helps to strengthen ties to the community as a whole. That community can be a local neighborhood, an online community, or as part of a national or international support network.

Giving back to others is a positive experience and one that is incredibly rewarding. Individuals that volunteer have the opportunity to be thanked and supported for what they do, which helps to create a sense of belonging, purpose, and contribution to things that are important to each individual.

An important factor to consider when choosing a volunteer opportunity is to consider how it aligns with your values, priorities, and passions. The more aligned the charity or organization is with your core beliefs and values, the more interesting and fun the volunteer experience.

Most volunteer groups are also socially active outside of the amazing work they do in their community. This provides opportunities to interact with others outside of the role you play in the organization. It is also a great way to expand your skills base, take on new responsibilities, or learn about processes, techniques, or methods that help you professionally.

Volunteers tend to report a higher level of personal satisfaction and happiness in their lives. Doing good things, meeting like-minded people, and helping others are great ways to boost your connections and your enjoyment of life.

In today’s remote or hybrid work world, it can be easy to fall into a routine that includes a lot of time on your own. While it is true that you have back-to-back Zoom meetings throughout the day, you may have very limited actual fun interaction with your friends.

Most people have a combination of friends or friend groups. Depending on the individual, these groups of friends can be from:

• Childhood and early school years
• College
• Special groups, clubs, or teams
• People who have similar hobbies or interests
• Church or other religious organizations
• Past jobs or careers
• Current jobs or careers
• Neighbors

Of course, there can be other groups as well. Depending on where you live, friend groups can overlap or be completely separate. Regardless of how interconnected your friends may be, finding time to spend together is an effective way to boost your mental health and wellness. It can also positively impact your physical health.

A Sense of Camaraderie and Belonging

As humans, we are born with a need to have a sense of belonging. While humans can and do need time on their own, knowing there is a friend there to help out, speak with, or to share achievements and challenges, helps to create this sense of belonging.

When we feel that sense of connection with another person, we feel more confident. In addition, having a friend tends to help people feel an increase in their sense of self-esteem, and positive friends who share how important the friendship is to them help us to see ourselves as positive influencers in the lives of others.

Helps with Stress Management

A good friend is someone you can talk to about difficult times in life. This could be a problem at work, the breakup of a relationship, or even challenges with the kids. Friends are a sounding board and provide emotional support to help you work through solutions or to get problems out and into the open.

Friends do not need to solve the problem or provide therapy; they just need to be there to provide encouragement, a listening ear, and support you in moving forward, celebrating your success, or helping you to talk through options.

Doing activities with friends, including walking, hiking, hitting the gym, taking a yoga class, or joining a baseball team, also help us to stay physically active. People who work out or do regular physical activity with a friend are more likely to keep up the habit and see better results than those who do these things independently.

Friendship is also a key factor in helping to reduce feelings of being alone. Individuals that regularly spend time with their friends face-to-face, online, or by phone are less likely to develop anxiety and depression and to report higher satisfaction levels in their lives.

As a professional, it is easy to fall into the belief that spending more time at work now will help you get to the place you want to be in your career at a faster pace. This is often the case with younger people entering into the workforce, those who are high-achievers, and people who are entrepreneurs or startup business owners.

While there is some truth to that idea, there is also a negative result of spending too much time focused on your career and not enough time with your family. Finding a way to create a sense of harmony between the time spent on your job and time with the family is a critical part of your overall health, wellness, and your sense of belonging.

Let’s take a look at several of the essential benefits of time spent with those you love:

• Increased resilience – having the ability to bounce back after challenges, disappointments, and difficulties in life is critical in both your professional and personal life. Spending time with people who care about you and support you helps to build resilience to weather these storms.
  

• Family ties – while sometimes family can be difficult, research shows that people who feel a sense of belonging with their immediate or extended family are more bonded and have a clear sense of who they are and how they interact with others. Bonding is positive and fills a basic need to feel part of a group and cared for in life.
  

• Better communication skills – talking in your personal life with those you love helps you to become more effective at talking to others at work. The family is also a safe place to practice different types of communication, including setting boundaries, giving feedback, and conflict resolution strategies.
  

• Increased mental health and wellness – people of any age, including kids and seniors, tend to have lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress when they spend time with their family or a group of caring individuals. Unconditional love and acceptance and ongoing support help reduce the risk of mental health issues, including burnout, over time.
  

• Giving and receiving – emotional support is not all about receiving. Staying involved with your parents, grandparents, kids, grandkids, and other family members helps you to both receive support and give support to others. Giving support is a positive experience that is beneficial on many different levels.

As a parent, spending time with your children, including attending school events, playing with the kids, and doing things that make lasting memories, offers immeasurable benefits. Many of these events are once-in-a-lifetime, and giving your children and yourself the gift of being there for them is simply priceless.