The result isn’t just a lack of friends at work, but also an absence of empathy toward our colleagues. We tend to give each other more grace when we’ve spent time together and we are open about our personal lives and the challenges we face, Keswin says. When traveling for clients, I also try to have quality interactions with my coworkers.
Yes, You Can Still Make Friends at Work If You’re Remote. Here’s How.
So, are you wondering how to stay social when working from home? As a customer service recruiting service company, we provide you with some effective strategies for making friends while rocking a remote work lifestyle. When you are exploring remote jobs in your hometown, you must understand the social aspect of such work. If you are looking for work from home jobs in Tucson, it is crucial to know that making friends while working remotely comes with a hidden cost. In reality, the exciting water-cool chats, lunch breaks, and laughs with your colleagues don’t have to be replaced with silence and the glow of your computer.
It’s a lot easier than when going to the office because we are all away from home and looking for people to have meals with! Obviously, the client meeting I’m attending is important but I think that time with coworkers is equally as important to my success as an employee. When I travel to the office, I actually end up not getting as much work done as I do at home because I’m focusing so much on doing some serious relationship building. I schedule lunches every day with different groups of coworkers. Sometimes I schedule breakfasts and dinners with coworkers that are free at those times too! I use my time to make the kinds of connections I can’t make while I’m remote.
Work friendships when working from home may now include people in different continents and timezones. While our commutes have become shorter, our scope for friendships has gone global. Making friends while working from home might require a bit more effort, but it’s definitely within reach. Okay, but what if you’re rejected by your co-worker and now you have to spend all day on Slack with them wondering why they don’t like you?
Use Your Time Wisely
Try to find common interests and contacts, find the perfect environment. Solidifying a friendship outside of work helps you to build on it within working hours. Having somebody you can trust, who you can rely on, and confide in, makes work an easier and more fulfilling experience.
Friendship is not built from one interaction; it grows gradually. According to the mere exposure effect, we unconsciously like those we are more exposed to. Scheduling an informal chat is great, but this chat needs to be repeated for a friendship to develop. The best way to do this is to put a standing meeting on your calendar, perhaps once a week or once a month, depending on preference.
It is necessary to leave the comfort zone, pass all new tests to gain confidence in yourself and your abilities. Try to make friends when you work from home, communicate with people constantly. Sooner or later, you will make your way to avoid loneliness by working remotely every day. That is why it is so important to start a more active social life. Follow these simple tips below on how to make friends when you work from home to reach your goal.
Try Online Interest Groups
Use the help of friends and relatives to discover communication channels. Drop a hint that you would like to spend more time in the company, play sports together or play computer games. Despite communication on social networks, video conferences with remote colleagues, the impression of loneliness remains.
Building relationships with coworkers virtually
You will gain self-confidence, reduce stress and emotional tension. Working in cafes or libraries how to make friends when you work from home is helpful because you can meet like-minded people without being tied to a place. It’s a unique chance to work in other cities to find business partners.
- Without the more impromptu meetings you might have in-person in an office, you have to start being proactive in nurturing your friendships.
- You might even think of something you can do together over video chats.
- So, even if you’re an introvert or you have social anxiety, putting yourself out there might be worth the effort.
- Infuse more of your personality and sense of humor into your work interactions.
- If you’re lucky enough to have an employer who organizes virtual parties or happy hours, make every effort to attend.
Companies like Afni stand out as ideal workplaces for remote professionals. We offer rewarding job positions and a supportive environment that encourages social interaction among employees. We make it simple to find your ideal job, progress in your workplace, and establish meaningful connections.
The top employee benefits for remote workers companies should consider
The more friends we repot, according to one study, the deeper the friendships. That means if you only ever interact at work, it’ll be hard to strengthen your bond. Instead, go to the museum or happy hour or have your co-worker over for dinner. You can even ask remote colleagues who live in your area to co-work with you. Repotting will elevate the friendship from work bae to full-fledged bud.
- I want to make connections with people,’ trust really is the foundation… of relationships,” Keswin says.
- “Find the sweet spot between technology and connection,” Keswin says.
- Making new friends is not as straightforward or easy as it looks in 90s movies.
- If you weren’t sure how to make friends when you work from home, your baby or fur baby might be the answer you were looking for.
- Working from home has its perks, but let’s admit it, sometimes it gets a bit lonely, right?
When I was in school and college, I would just ask the people who sat beside me if they wanted to do homework together and some of those became friends. I would also join organizations and some were better than others. A large number of different ways will help you find friends, establish communication, and have a really good time. If work from home exhausts you and makes you feel uncomfortable, you should immediately think about finding mates.
Building work friendships, especially in remote or hybrid environments, may take time and effort, but the personal and professional benefits are well worth it. Embrace the opportunities to connect, and you’ll find your circle of support before you know it. Finding work friends who understand your daily struggles from a first-hand perspective is an important part of maintaining work/life balance and positive mental health. If you are in a career that has unique demands that only someone else in your field gets, this makes having work friends even more vital. Making connections at work not only benefits you personally, but also professionally. Often your work friends become your biggest allies and cheerleaders, helping you attain higher levels of success.
I provide in-person therapy in Pasadena and online therapy throughout California. The key to a strong friendship is having a compelling reason to spend time together. At work that could mean offering to share resources, attending network events together or even taking a class together, Goldfarb explains. But how do you make friends working from home when you rarely spend time together in the office? Overall, we know that building those coworker relationships is really important to your wellbeing at work. Sometimes it takes some creativity and effort to get to know your remote friends.
Telling your colleague whether you’re interested in having a 15-minute phone call or a five-minute video call makes it easier for your coworker to say yes. You’re offering them the gift of attention and camaraderie, and that can be very powerful because working from home can be very lonely, Goldfarb says. “For the foreseeable future, we are not returning to an office community,” she says. Indeed, the national office vacancy rate was 18.2% in November 2023, according to real estate software firm Commercial Edge. “I think we have to start thinking… ‘What does the workplace of 2024 and 2025 look like? And how has that changed what we actually need from each other?