How to Make Friends While Working from Home? Ask These Office Newbies

Wall Street Journal reported that people with more friends at work are more likely to be engaged and productive. They also mentioned that making friends at work can be a bit tricky, but it’s worth the effort because having friends at work can make you happier and more satisfied with your job. It can be especially difficult to make friends when you’ve recently moved to a new city or started a new job, but there are lots of ways to meet interesting people. You can start by talking to your co-workers, joining a social media group for people in your area, or attending events that are related to your interests. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even start your own company or group. Whatever you do, don’t let social distancing prevent you from meeting new people and making new friends.

• The same thing applies if the roles are reversed, and you’re the one who’s introducing the newbie to potential office friends.
• To make friends with your colleagues, you’re going to need to let your guard down a little bit.
• She is currently based in Chicago but has also lived in New York, Washington, DC, London, and several places in between.
• Structure a relationship-building opportunity early in every in-person meeting because it’s awkward to see people again after a long break.
• Are you worried that it will eat up too much of your productive work time?

Start the conversation with a comment about your 15 minutes of free time before you have to jump back into a project. One way is to be intentional about making friends, both in person and online. If you are working remotely, try to find ways to connect with others who are also working remotely.

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Joining a private Facebook group or chatroom with other parents can be an excellent way to connect and make friends. Think about how your behavior might appear to others so you don’t accidentally offend anyone. For example, it might look like you’re not paying attention if you’re taking notes during a Zoom meeting, so let people know what you’re doing. And yet I couldn’t help but find some of this advice a bit frustrating. I knew that intention was important, but I also chafed at the idea that workplace relationships were something I could will into being with enough persistence and determination.

• So it was reassuring to hear that this isn’t something that’s totally up to you or me.
• This is a great way to meet new people and socialize, even if you can’t do it in person.
• The options are entirely dependent upon the friendship you’re choosing to forge, and there’s no one way to go about making a new friend.
• Make an effort to get out of the house at least once a day, even if it’s just for a quick walk around the block.

Depending on your company, it may have worked—for a while. Eventually the after-work video hangouts stopped, the after-work parties faded away, and the “come hang in a video call while we all work” meetings fell off the calendar. No one really likes planned fun, even if the people who plan it mean well. Everyone would rather just have that hour back on their schedules and let the fun happen organically. If you’ve already made one or two friends, congratulations!

How to make friends when you’re an adult + remote working + new city?

Pretty much all how to make friends when you work from home have a “random” or a “break room” Slack channel, but anyone who frequents it knows that the environment feels much more controlled than in real life. Often, you’ll notice that your work Slack is used for non-problematic small talk featuring memes, inside jokes, or gossip vaguely related to the office. We explored how workplace friendship dynamics have shifted in 2022, especially for generations who have started their careers in remote-friendly environments. To do so, we surveyed over 1,200 Americans with a variety of industry experiences to determine the state of workplace friendships and relationships today. London is an incredible city and there is so much to see and explore.

But interacting doesn’t always have to mean hopping on a video call. Fill in the gaps by joining conversations in Slack, sharing emoji reactions, and liking social posts. The more you engage with a person, the stronger a professional relationship—and personal friendship—you can build. If employers are seeking highly reviewed, productive environments with satisfied employees, finding ways to foster remote connections are key.

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The physical, mental and emotional consequences are serious. Some research indicates that loneliness might be as much of health risk as smoking. While there are countless upsides to working from home, there’s one consistent challenge — and it’s a serious one. You have gifts to share with the world and my job is to help you get them out there. B-School Whether you’re brand new to business or established and ready to grow, B-School will challenge you to execute at your highest level. I think the most important thing is to settle and ease yourself in.

• 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.
• Coordinating meet-ups with new friends can be a challenge due to busy schedules.
• Your organization might, for example, have an ERG for its LGBTQ+ community, one for Jewish employees, or one that serves women.
• If the answer was “no” to any of the above, we noticed that people only interacted when they were required to for work-related reasons.
• It’s important to note that in-person employees (39%) were also more likely to make most of their friends at work, compared to fully remote employees (22%).

Maybe your local soup kitchen has a rooftop garden that is always looking for a few spare hands. We often think likable people are funny or smart or charismatic, but the secret to being likable is actually to like people. According to the theory of inferred attraction, people like people who they think like them. Co-workers will be 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. So if you’re already working remotely, pick one new tip from this list to try each week until you’re a social butterfly 24/7. Start sweatworking and you’ll meet loads of network connections.

Tips on How to Make Friends When You Work from Home

I know a lot of people don’t like being friends with their coworkers. Every boss will like that research finding—and here’s another one. A Gallup study found that remote employees with work friendships were more fulfilled, more loyal, and less likely to seek work elsewhere. “This affects mutual availability and responsiveness, two behaviors that build trust and eventually friendship,” the researchers write.

• When I moved abroad, this was the #1 way I met some of my best friends.
• Every boss will like that research finding—and here’s another one.
• I can’t grab an impromptu coffee or stop by someone’s desk.
• Managers can also create opportunities for employees to meet in-person and take full advantage of these opportunities.
• To the 2018 Global Co-Working Forecast, 1.7 million people will be working from shared spaces by the end of 2018.

Anderson Anselmo