Welcome Wednesday: Friends with past coworkers?

[Dave LIAO]

🎉 Hi there, community!

It's time for another Welcome Wednesday, a chance to participate on the Community forums on topics that aren't necessarily Atlassian-related. (See past Welcome Wednesdays here, and join in the conversation!)

For this week, I have a question about community - your friend community. Specifically, past coworkers!

Are you friends with past coworkers? Why - or why not?

Looking forward to your responses! And if it's getting warm where you are, hope you're staying cool. 🧊🍧

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

Sure, yes, in general. There are a few colleagues I'd like to connect with on LinkedIn, just to make sure I don't work with them again, but it's not intended to be used that way :P

But I think my closest friendships come from when families grow up together, either as children or as adults

[Matt Raney]

I had to laugh at the LinkedIn part! 😄 We all have a few coworkers we'd rather not work with again. I agree with you, though—some of the strongest and longest-lasting friendships are the ones that grow through shared life experiences and family connections. Those are truly special. 😊

[Brita Moorus]

The LinkedIn part made me laugh 😄 We probably all have at least one connection saved for exactly that reason!

[Anwesha Pan]

Omg @Matt Doar _Adaptavist_ 🤣 I was reading your comment so seriously but you caught us all 🤣🤣

[Natalie Beiler]

Indeed I do stay connected with many past coworkers. I have had the privilege to work with some amazing people over the past 40+ years. My coworkers often became dear friends as we worked together. Those were the days of going into the "office" and laboring together over many, many challenges in healthcare and healthcare IT.

From my clinical days we laughed and cried as we saw life begin and end together while trying to maintain family life outside of the long shifts, on-call rotations, and staffing shortages.

From my IT days we built new facilities, installed new hardware and software, manually changed backup tapes, rebooted servers from a console in the server room, deployed devices for hundreds of end users, fixed jammed printers, remediated virus mayhem when someone in the C-Suite clicked on an email that released a lethal bug that spread like melting butter in a hot skillet...need I say more?

I find great joy in staying connected to people I share history with regardless of how long we labored together. 

Thanks for the discussion topic @Dave LIAO 

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

Hi @Dave LIAO  and all,

Thanks for giving food for thought.

I tell you, the older I get, the more I will say that the truth lies in the middle.

With some, I'm still friends. With others, it hasn't sustained time, and we people tend to just at some point concentrate on ourselves and our lives and close some parts of our lives.

I'll tell you one thing I learned years ago: People who want to be present in your life, or you in theirs, will stay. The rest will go. That's how life is.

[Brita Moorus]

Very true. The people who genuinely value the connection usually find a way to stay in touch, even when life gets busy or circumstances change 😊

[Anahit Sukiasyan]

This is giving a shout-out to my favorite ex-coworker, @Arpi Kizogyan 💙

Jobs may change, but some coworkers are simply too good to leave behind!! 😍

[zoltanersek _outpostlabs_dev_]

I'm actually good friends with past coworkers, however I see a trend, my past coworker friends are all from the beginning of my career.

[Brita Moorus]

I'm still friends with colleagues from my previous companies and I'm really grateful for that 🧡

From one company, we still go on an annual ski trip together, and we meet up for dinners or board game nights every now and then ⛷️🧩

From another, we still have regular dinners, poker evenings, and celebrate birthdays together 🍕♣️

It's nice when work friendships continue long after you've changed jobs. Some of those people have become lifelong friends 😊 💙

[Carsten Severin _KUMAVISION AG_]

Of course, I still stay in touch with some former colleagues. I firmly believe that professional and personal relationships can be separated—and sometimes professional connections grow into lasting friendships.

A great example is a former apprentice whom I supported throughout his studies, including some challenging project management certifications. We still meet regularly today, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch his journey.

I’m proud to have been part of people’s development for a chapter of their lives and careers. Seeing them continue to grow and succeed is inspiring, and I’m grateful if I may have contributed even a small part to that success.

[Ivica Prvanovic]

Yes, I am! I actually have a lot of my past and present coworkers on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We still stay in touch regularly through social media. I think working together is a great way to meet like-minded people, so I always try to keep those friendships alive even after we move on to different jobs.

[Barbara Szczesniak]

I spent much of my career as a contractor, so I often wasn't at a job long enough to make friends that would last. Adding that many of my job changes have involved moving to a different state or country, so we might keep in touch for a few years, but eventually life happens and we lose track of each other.

[Anne Saunders]

My partner and I have been together for just over 6 years. We met at a job where we worked together for about a year before he got a better offer from another firm. So, um, yes.

I'm also friends with a handful of other people I've worked with over the years, but only the ones I would have been friends with anyway if we'd met under other circumstances. 

[Amanda Barber]

I'm friends with a number of my former teaching colleagues, but have had a harder time maintaining "friendships" from my remote roles over the last 6 years. I have a few people I've kept in touch with, a few I've followed to new jobs, and a bunch more I stay connected with on LinkedIn in hopes of working together again!

[Galen Garrison]

I am friends with 2 former co-workers. Even though we all left our former employer, we remain friends a decade later and get together for dinner monthly.

[Reiner]

I'm the godfather of a coworker's son, so I've been in regular contact with him for more than 10 years.

[Anwesha Pan]

Have a very few co-workers from previous projects who are good friends now 😊 

and I agree to what @Arkadiusz Wroblewski  and @Brita Moorus said that people will stay in touch or vice versa if they are meant to stay. 

[Brita Moorus]

🧡