Still, we should try to make friends when working remotely because feeling connected at work is necessary for our fulfillment in our jobs and lives. Research finds, for example, that people with friends at work are more satisfied with and perform better at their jobs. Lonely employees, in contrast, are less productive and more likely to leave their jobs. There’s certainly a role for new technology to play here, too. But a big part of what’s still missing is the emotional piece—that ineffable digital experience that can replicate the feeling of presence we can only seem to get offline. It’s why, as cities and workplaces increasingly open up, finding that balance between the physical and virtual will be key.
After the meeting, send her a message telling her you know exactly how that feels – you just dropped your three-year-old off at her first day of daycare. A quick follow-up message is the perfect way to transition that random comment from a meeting into a long-term conversation (and maybe friendship). If you’d like to improve your new employee onboarding program or help employees develop a better sense of camaraderie and collaboration, we can help. Contact us to learn about our training programs for remote supervisors and employees. If people don’t respond to your efforts, don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe they’re overwhelmed with work and have no time for “the new guy” right now.
Initiate virtual coffees or cocktails.
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Fewer friends, explains the author, means more cliques, more gossip and less intimacy. With 20 per cent of people who report feeling lonely at work almost all the time and 60 per cent of people feeling it half the time — it’s clear friends are super important to have at work. This could be a channel to share tips for keeping those houseplants alive, swap recipes and dinner ideas, or talk about the books people are reading. Co-workers will be how to make friends when you work from home more likely to want to be your friend if you show them you like them by doing things like greeting them warmly, speaking highly of them, and celebrating their success. A chat messaging service is your go-to medium for remote work friendships. Whether you’re sending a text message or voice message through a program like Voxer, it’s the remote equivalent of popping into someone’s office to tell them a quick story on your way to the bathroom.
Take Advantage of Existing Opportunities
Another study found that when people answered a series of intimate questions, they felt closer afterward. Not having an in-person office environment doesn’t mean you can’t still have a lunch date or coffee chat to catch up or get to know someone better. Meet-and-greet video calls are especially helpful if you’re new to a job or to a team.
In the absence of better tools, the chance to meet and see our colleagues again will almost certainly make the virtual side of our relationships stronger than if they were virtual all the time. Slack, Zoom, and other online collaboration tools have made working from home a more social affair than ever. If you’re lucky enough to have an employer who organizes virtual parties or happy hours, make every effort to attend. Just talking about it can open up the opportunity to socialize and make a friend at the virtual office. And while shared interest won’t land you your new work bestie, it’s still important.
How To Become Friends With Your Coworkers While Working Remotely
People come and go in the workplace all the time — but when we leave our jobs, we don’t have to lose our friends — though Nelson has heard it happen again and again. If a friendship feels like it’s fading, new patterns of consistency need to be introduced. “If we don’t have time together, we can’t do the other two things,” explains Nelson. In case you’re wondering, trust is also born from consistency.
- “I define friendship as a healthy relationship where both people feel seen in a safe and satisfying way,” says Nelson.
- That colleague who’s always sharing recipes and photos of the gorgeous meals they make on their personal blog will probably appreciate your likes and comments on their posts.
- Repotting will elevate the friendship from work bae to full-fledged bud.
While the task is not very easy, the good news is that is it possible to stay in touch and have fun. With a little bit of creativity, you might even forget that you’re not in the same office as the rest of the team. Here are some simple ways to make work friends and collaborate with your virtual team when working remotely. That said, there are some potential pitfalls to working remotely. When working remotely, connecting in meaningful ways to colleagues becomes more of a challenge, and making work friends and maintaining these key relationships is harder and takes more work.