According to Statista, 60% of the world’s population use social media and millions more come online each month. Friendships can build off the smallest things — it may begin with work-related conversations where you share similar opinions or experiences. These conversations will evolve so you talk about subjects outside of work. You may begin to feel happier disclosing information about your hobbies, interests, or family life. These are the issues that can really start a firm bond and meaningful connections.
Soon enough, my friend introduced the concept of „First Fridays“ to our social circle in Austin, a tradition they had been a part of in NYC. These First Friday meetups quickly became something I looked forward to, and I always do my best to attend, unless I have a stand-up comedy show lined up. The key takeaway here is the importance of follow-through in maintaining and enriching these relationships. I did B-School a few years back, and really appreciate you and your team.” We appreciate you. “In business, I’m comfortable being vulnerable online, but I realized that I’m not at all comfortable talking to people in person about what I do.
Yet, it can be difficult to navigate work without trusted friends to lean on — especially if they can understand the same organizational and systemic challenges you face in the workplace. This has taken a toll on workers, whose profound loneliness is evident not only in the data but the numerous self-reports emerging from media sources of all kinds. The remote work world seems to have taken not only our ability to communicate with colleagues but also our potential for fostering friendships. About to go watch the football game at UT with my homie in a wheelchair. He does standup comedy (we’ve heard the puns so don’t even) and hangs out with us until 1am and shit no question.
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This LinkedIn Learning course will teach you quite a bit about evaluating risks. Apps are also trying to help us make new friends from our living room. Vina, and Bumble BFF are just a few that offer you a way to quickly peek into the interests of thousands of women (and a few, men too!) for purely platonic relationships. You don’t have to be in a big city or shell out a lot of cash to benefit from co-working. Local schools often have open public workspaces, and even your library probably has a spot where people can collaborate and meet without the 12 inch whisper. Between April 2020 and February 2021, Microsoft’s 2020 Work Trend Index reported that work relationships have shifted in an unfortunate direction.
- It means you’ll need to put a bit more effort into staying in touch online and planning when to meet.
- If someone asks for travel advice from a place you know well, share your tips.
- Six months into our friendship I moved because of the pandemic.
- Fortunately, making new friends doesn’t have to be hard, especially once you know where to look and how to put yourself out there.
- A shared enthusiasm is bound to make connecting to new people that little bit easier.
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You can also play virtual trivia with your team during lunch breaks. You can also start each meeting with a question to help people get to know each other. Try telling an existing friend that you’re “looking to expand your social circle” and ask them who they think you should grab coffee with. Planting the seed that you’re someone who likes to connect will keep you top of mind to be included as your friends add new relationships of their own. If you’re all remote, just extend your ice cream-eating and TV-watching into a group chat form, and see if you all click.
Having somebody you can trust, who you can rely on, and confide in, makes work an easier and more fulfilling experience. While we all need to be careful on social media, it can prove a helpful lifeline for non work-related conversations, and keeping in touch outside of working hours. You might not have much time to talk with someone if you can only speak for a few minutes each day, but patience is the name of the game — lasting friendships take time. Her team maintains an open chat channel where they can ask questions, share and provide support. They share photos of pets, memories such as hikes or a child receiving an award, and “do-it-yourself” home projects. That how to make friends when you work from home allows the team to get to know each other on a more personal level.
And you’re gonna wind up describing your work in the context of the human that’s in front of you. And, most important, it’ll be fresh and it won’t be formulic. These types of strong connections with colleagues didn’t just start in Singapore. The best part about my first job out of college, when I was still living in Manhattan, was our weekly brainstorming meeting. The team manager would bring a brown paper bag filled with bagels, and we’d sit around a table coming up with new ways to improve the site’s content.
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Ask them to grab lunch at that cute restaurant down the street, or take them to your favorite coffee shop. Then, there are the two women in my life that are my work-friend-turned-real-friend success stories. It can be easy to nurture a surface-level friendships when working from home, but that doesn’t mean it will become a lasting and meaningful relationship. If you resign from your position tomorrow, would you want to talk to your workplace friends again? If the answer is no, it might indicate a need to get to know them outside of a work environment or scenario.
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Just talking about it can open up the opportunity to socialize and make a friend at the virtual office. I’m 30 and moving from NYC to London with a remote job. I’m great at striking up a friendly and meaninful conversation, but find it challenging to take small talk to the friendship stage. Would love tips, advice, and anecdotal experiences in navigating how to turn small talk into a friendship. Meetup is great if you just want to get out and meet people that are interested in the same things you are.
- They also may have shared something insightful that changed how you look at a topic.Find something you can point out and praise them for and how it positively impacted your life.
- I know plenty of finance folks, so I’m not trolling the American Banker’s Association to meet new friends.
- Whether you’re one of the people who’s started a new job over the pandemic or you’re just someone with a few new teammates, this is especially why making friends at work is so important.
- You can also ask what advice they may have for a new hire.
So even if you’ve suffered from burnout or loneliness, make yourself the harbinger of good things to come. If you don’t have any kids or aren’t planning to, the same idea works for your pets. Dog parks and organized dog walks are an ideal way to meet other fur parents, talk about your pets, and maintain a more active lifestyle.
There are times where he can’t go to certain venues because of the buildings not being wheelchair accessible. Yet, I don’t hear him complain about how hard it is to make friends. In 2019, after moving back to Los Angeles, I was buzzing with enthusiasm for two things—continuing my journey in stand-up comedy and intentionally fostering more female friendships. At an open mic night, I met a woman who shared my enthusiasm for comedy.
You might have a lot in common with your team or colleagues that you can explore beyond your virtual office. Look for opportunities to meet up in-person, or online, that give you a chance to develop the friendship. A dinner, a virtual coffee, a walk and talk, or a post-work drink — all get you both out of the work headspace.