Can Co-Workers Be My Friends?

The simple response to this question is: “Yes, of course!”  When you move to a new city or start life in the real world after college, the easiest way to meet new people and potentially make friends is through work.  But the more complicated answer to this question is: “Yes, but be careful…”

It’s important to remember that work life is separate from real life.  Whatever drama might be occurring at home, you never want to bring this to the workplace or let it affect your work in any way.  This is why a quick friendship with a co-worker can be a little tricky.  The behavior that you display in your personal life is definitely not the behavior that you would display at work, but does that mean that you can’t go out for happy hour with co-workers and let off steam about your frustrating work week and completely annoying other co-workers?  But that is so fun!

My advice is to be cautious and keep your guard up for a little while.  Just as you wouldn’t want to jump into bed with one of your co-workers (that is a topic for another day!) because of obvious risks, you want to remember that ruined friendships can also create similar problems to those caused by ruined relationships.

Be social and participate in work events.  Be friendly and meet people.  Talk about issues that are not private and that don’t divulge information that could be used against you at work.  Try to bite your tongue about talking about other co-workers until you know this is someone you can really trust.  Most importantly, don’t drink too much if you go out!  You want your head to be clear so that you can control what you are saying and avoid making a fool of yourself.

Remember that success in your job is extremely important, especially in this economy, and you don’t want anything to jeopardize that.  Friends are important, and it is definitely a huge possibility that friends you meet at work could be some of your best friends for life, but move slowly in these relationships.  Don’t put too much trust in anyone too quickly or you could put yourself and your job at risk.

Image: llawiet on flickr