Is it a good idea to befriend your colleagues?

To befriend your colleagues or not to befriend your colleagues?

This is an article prepared by our intern, Moises Padre. Please enjoy…

Befriend your colleagues can be a tricky thing. On one hand, possessing a friend at work can help you feel as if someone is in your corner and can supply you with the confidence to do your best and a safe environment to land when things get rough. On the other hand, if you choose a “false friend” your work life will be that much more tangled. A false friend may tattle about you more at work and cause massive problems that aren’t easily fixed. Altogether, developing friendships at work is a healthy thing that can benefit both you and your employer. Friendships at the office have both positive and negative points, and should be developed slowly and naturally.

Tips to Remember When Befriending a Colleague

When you become closer to your colleagues it is important to keep in mind that certain things should be kept private. These things include:

1. Anything associated to money, which includes salary and financial background.
2. Sexual history
3. Illness or health concerns
4. Giving out details of your work performance
5. Personal matters that might seed problems for you at work.

As you get to know the people you work with, you should keep these points in mind.

Pros: Reasons to Befriend a Colleague

1. Work becomes a more delightful place to go to, reason being you feel appreciated and cared about.
2. Possessing a friend at work gives you a safe way to release your frustrations. By releasing your anger and frustrations you will recover quicker when difficulty at work occur.
3. Colleagues “have your back” more than typically reason being they know you on a more personal level. There is a less chance for misinterpretations, due to the fact that people you work with get where you are coming from.
4. An affectionate work environment encourages more creativity. This statement is somewhat accurate, whether your job is directly associated to creative pursuits such as advertising, marketing or photography for example, or whether you are just more creative in how you solve problems. You experience more comfortability being yourself and this permits you to think outside the box.

Cons: Reasons to not Befriend a Colleague

1. Work can turn into an unprofessional environment. Plentiful chit chat and not sufficient focus on the job can get you and your colleague in trouble.
2. If you ponder someone is your friend and it revolves out not to be true, you could become the culprit of sabotage or backstabbing from someone you trusted. If you befriend your colleague at work, remember to keep things professional at all times. Work is foremost important. It’s pleasant to have a support system with your colleagues, but steer away from playing favorites or spending too much time doing things unrelated to your job. If you keep these tips in mind you’ll have thee ability to search out people who can be good friends.
3. Surprisingly, having a friend in the office who stands up for you can accumulate resentment from others. Colleagues may feel that you are receiving preferential treatment you don’t deserve.
4. Getting too close with someone at work can mean they are aware just a little bit too much about you. So the question now arises: “Do you really want your colleagues to know about your demons or evens struggles?”
5. You or evens your colleague could become codependent. Regardless of what you do off work with your work colleagues, things have and could go too far when codependency situations arise.

If you befriend your colleagues at work, never forget to keep things professional at all times. Work is foremost important. It’s pleasant to have a support system with your colleague, but nevertheless try to avoid favouritism or spending too much time doing things associated to your job. If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be able to search our colleagues who can be good friends.

[,Source: Becoming friends with coworkers]

Thank you for reading.

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#befriendyourcolleagues #befriendyourcoworkers #FowziaGamiet #MoisesPadre