When has a work friend turned into an IRL friend?

[Kristen Roth]

Research shows that having a “work bestie” can increase your job satisfaction. Work friends not only make you happier—they also make you better at your job.

Have you met one of your closest friends through work? Have any tips for making work friends in a hybrid/remote environment? Let us know!

[Anita Kalmane]

Regular 1:1 chats with ppl you enjoy talking with. And sharing some 'secrets'.

[Kristen Roth]

Love this. Don't underestimate the power of sharing little 'secrets'!

[Jonathan Whitford]

I am really enjoying Teamwork Lab. I've met a few friends that I see regularly throughout my career. 

For hybrid environments if a group can get together for lunch in the office I think that helps create connection. Also creating shared interest groups on Slack/Teams or another platform is a way I've met other people at work virtually.

[Kristen Roth]

We're glad you're here, @Jonathan Whitford !

Shared interest groups on Slack are great. Since so many Atlassians don't live near any of our offices, we have a number of Slack channels that are specific to certain cities/states/countries. They're such a nice way for us to meet and feel connected to our local teammates!

[Christine P. Dela Rosa]

My ProTip: respond or react to when people share something personally in group chat messages, even if it's just a "wow" or "I didn't know that" level of a response. Those little things bring people together, especially in a space where it's scary to share something personal due to not seeing facial reactions.

[Kristen Roth]

Great tip, @Christine P. Dela Rosa . The simple act of acknowledgement goes such a long way.

[Fabienne Gerhard]

Thank you @Christine P. Dela Rosa - that's absolutely great! Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is often the fastest (maybe not the easiest way) to find together. 

[Andy Gladstone]

I am borrowing this excerpt from an earlier post.

I started using Confluence in the early 2010's at my previous company, and there Jake Lawson and I formed a team that was focused on building our Confluence instance into the single source of truth every day. We really had captured lightning in a bottle, and I am thankful to him every day for giving me an ideal to strive for. 

As a result of this four years of effort, Jake became a lifelong friend and brother to me. Although he is in Dallas, TX and I am in New York City, I still refer to him as my right hand, years later.

[Kristen Roth]

Love this story of building a Confluence instance while also building a friendship, @Andy Gladstone. Thank you for sharing! 

[Fabienne Gerhard]

Show empathy and no matter how stressful work might be - always have some time for your colleagues to listen to them. You don't need to help them sometimes it helps if someone listens 👂

I found out for myself that real friends from work are those that not only laugh with you but are also those who cry with you 💪

Found one of my closest friends (who is my boss now) during my student job over 10 years ago - we went through laughter, cry, got lost, had close contact and now work together and it's awesome 🤷‍♀️

[Monique vdB]

@Fabienne Gerhard you're lucky that it is working out! I have had numerous friends as bosses and it can sometimes be amazing and sometimes... not so much. :) 

[Svenja Lorenzen]

Open up and create closeness. Catch up on a conversation, remember little details your opposite is mentioning. See if you have something in common or if you don't try to show interest in your colleagues interests.

I met one of my best friends at work and I'm super happy I did. 👯‍♀️

[Kristen Roth]

👯‍♀️ Thank you for sharing, @Svenja Lorenzen !

[Anne Saunders]

I met my partner at work. We work in different shops now, but we met he was a new-to-our-shop Sr. Dev and I was his BA. Apparently he liked me organizing his work life enough that he wanted me to boss him around at home, too. :D

Really, it was all about the support and opportunities to be there for one another. I helped him with his onboarding; he helped me decompose some tasks I hadn't encountered previously; I helped him find his footing in some of our tools that were new to him; he taught me how to use regular expressions in a script I was writing. When we both came out of decade-long relationships around the same time at the beginning of the pandemic, it was a natural progression from there.

[Kristen Roth]

Love hearing how you supported each other at work and the relationship grew from there. Thank you for sharing, @Anne Saunders ! 

[Andy Gladstone]

Apparently he liked me organizing his work life enough that he wanted me to boss him around at home, too.

😂