Some people meet lifelong friends and significant others in the workplace. I met a some of my best friends at jobs I’ve held over the years. It’s a good feeling when you come across others who hold similar values, especially at work.

This can lead to stronger cohesion and increased teamwork. Making friends also gives you a chance to meet others with common interests with whom you can collaborate on projects outside of work.

Over time, I’ve met people who write their own games and applications and have offered me spots on their programming teams. From music aficionados to foodies, I’ve met some great people throughout my time in the workforce.

Unfortunately, despite good intentions, friendships also have a tendency to create obstacles that obstruct daily work.

Interpersonal friend groups can turn a workplace into a political landscape where in order to complete work, one has to prioritize who they can work with based on relationships instead of skills and knowledge.

Negative, tense interactions may become more frequent and start to take the place of work-related problems that need solving. Or make them worse.

Kindergarten all over again

I once had a supervisor who was friendly when I started my job. They cracked jokes and always offered helpful advice and tips on efficiency. Just an overall welcoming personality. One day, they switched completely.

Like a Jekyll Hyde transformation.

Not because they stopped being “nice”, but because our interactions became very negative. They sounded cold and condescending,ultimately refusing assistance in any problem-solving.

Though I was capable of completing the work independently, their attitude made it more challenging because I had to complete tasks without any authority figure to ensure it was done properly or provide feedback on ways to improve. Their personal feelings became a block and prevented me from getting outside perspectives on my quality of work.

Their job was to provide quality assurance…but they refused to review my work. How does THAT work?

I have experienced workplace relationships like these many times, but I don’t allow it to discourage me from performing my best. And neither should you!

It’s definitely possible to make friends at work if you prioritize your objectives accordingly. Every work environment will be different and will have it’s mixed bag of people. Focus on the day’s work and remain cordial. 

You can still obtain opportunities for social gatherings and projects outside of the job. Let it happen naturally. No one makes friends by asking “hey will you be my friend?”. It just happens! As long as you are getting your work done efficiently and feel comfortable with the people on that level, you will be just fine!

Join the mailing list to see updates like this every week!
Coding Fanatic

Follow me on Twitter @rclarkecf for more content daily!

Link to featured image can be found here.

Link to “Hail Wily” can be found here

All rights reserved, no copyright infringement intended. I don’t work for Marvel or Capcom nor did I create this image. I just wanted to feature it as the headlining image in this article.