It’s easy to forget that humans are social beings too and need our regular dose of social interaction. However, remote and flexible working means we need to rethink how we navigate staying social and sane. Video calls capture non-verbal cues, tone of voice and facial expressions that are crucial for building rapport. They also create more personal connections than voice-only calls. Consider using pre-recorded video messages for updates, explanations or feedback when real-time conversation isn’t necessary.
“Meeting up with people in-person helps a lot, especially for extroverts,” Duffy says. Try to work in the same library, mall, coworking space, or coffee shop. So you can communicate with people while also making permanent acquaintances. how to make friends when you work from home Keep talking and making friends even if you work from home.
Start a Slack channel and invite anyone who’s interested to join. Many companies have affiliate groups for people of color, women, or LGBTQ employees. They may have clubs for particular interests (like volunteering) or work-related committees that focus on specific projects or initiatives within the organization. We all love to poke fun at icebreaker activities, but they’re still around for a reason.
Repot friendships.
When you are exploring remote jobs in your hometown, you must understand the social aspect of such work. If you are looking for work from home jobs in Tucson, it is crucial to know that making friends while working remotely comes with a hidden cost. Grant added that shorter tenures and declining morale are not helping either. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory warns that lacking social connection increases the risk of premature death as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness has been linked to depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep, and higher rates of burnout. For companies, a lonely remote workforce means lower engagement, poorer collaboration, and increased turnover.
Do things with people IRL
We explained how to make friends when you work from home quickly and effectively. You can maintain a work-life balance and foster a sense of community by participating in virtual events, joining online communities, and reaching out to colleagues through digital platforms. You can mentor students, participate in environmental clean-up efforts, organize virtual fundraisers and make connections based on shared goals and experiences.
Drop a hint that you would like to spend more time in the company, play sports together or play computer games. Despite communication on social networks, video conferences with remote colleagues, the impression of loneliness remains. If you are constantly at home, improve your work efficiency but lose your humanity and essential social skills by disconnecting from reality. Moreover, joining online communities and forums can provide a sense of belonging and help you facilitate meaningful interactions and network opportunities.
Even if I like someone a lot, I just can’t hang out in that small rectangular box all day without feeling like I am becoming Siri or something. But you can have a little hang time with folks without committing to a whole extra meeting. It’s the virtual equivalent of lingering at the conference table to gossip.
- Samantha Byard is the Recruitment Marketing Manager for Afni and brings a wealth of knowledge and tips for job seekers.
- Your local library might be the perfect spot for you to be around others and also get some work done, or put your work aside and read a good book instead.
- And a recent McKinsey report says that percent of the workforces in advanced economies could work from home between three and five days a week without a loss of productivity.
- These strategies are most effective when implemented together as a comprehensive approach.
- There are many interest groups where you can expand your friendship and professional circle.
- Here are five strategies for building relationships with coworkers virtually in today’s current office environment— which is more focused on remote work and hybrid schedules than in-office work.
Join or create a group for remote workers
- It can be difficult to make friends when you move to a new city, start a new job, or even if you’ve been working at the same company for years.
- What seems to be the case is that once all your kids are in school, you’re a little bit more inclined to show up for the office more and seek out that community a little bit.
- No-gym-required communities such as Tone it Up and Lauren Gleisberg followers can seek out hashtags and almost always find a local meet-up of like-minded ladies.
- We provide access to remote positions in various industries and multiple cities, giving our clients suitable options.
- What they show is, as long as you’re colocated with people at least half the week, there is no cost to your co-worker relationships to working from anywhere the other half of the week.
And let’s face it, we all need someone to talk to sometimes- even if they’re just sitting at the desk next to us. With the current state of the world, many people are struggling with social skills and isolation. Making friends at work can help combat these issues and make going into the office a lot more enjoyable.
Q4 2024 State of Remote Work: 10 Best…
Our Money newsletter – now in its third week – brings the kind of content you enjoy in the Money blog directly to your inbox every Friday. Apps are also trying to help us make new friends from our living room. Vina, and Bumble BFF are just a few that offer you a way to quickly peek into the interests of thousands of women (and a few, men too!) for purely platonic relationships. Embrace transparency, foster a sense of belonging, form connections – and have fun along the way. At Atlassian we encourage individuals to give team members kudos (thank you notes with small gifts) when they embody a specific trait from our company values. You may not have a budget for small gifts, and that’s okay.
Share information that might not be formally communicated and help bridge the gap between in-office and remote team members. Advocate for regular team-building activities and social opportunities that cater to the needs of remote employees. Suggest virtual coffee chats, online game sessions or collaborative projects that help team members get to know each other better. If your company doesn’t offer these opportunities, propose specific ideas and volunteer to help organize them. As a remote worker, finding that social connection when you don’t have office mates can seem difficult at first. From early hunter-gatherer tribes to modern-day society, humans have relied on each other for survival.
Propose a monthly virtual lunch for your team, a weekly coffee chat for early risers or a channel for sharing productivity tips and remote work hacks. Creating social opportunities not only helps you connect with others but positions you as someone who cares about team culture and colleague well-being. Make it a priority to work at least one day per week outside of your home.
If you’re feeling extra brave, you can even set up a virtual coffee date. Working from home can be a great way to get ahead in your career, but it can also be a bit isolating. If you’re not careful, you can quickly find yourself feeling lonely and disconnected from the world. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make friends when you work from home. Many companies also have Slack channels that are geared towards employees’ hobbies and interests, such as hiking, biking or pets. Be active on the channels that interest you, and look for opportunities to make natural connections with your coworkers.
Studies show having a best friend at work continues to be a key driver of employee engagement and job satisfaction. However, according to a Gallup poll, only 37% of employees felt they had a best friend at work in 2022, compared with 42% in 2019. A step-by-step online training course that shows you how to write copy that’s powerful, persuasive, and 100% YOU, so people will love – and buy – what you sell. Marisa Franco, Ph.D., was previously a professor at Georgia State University, where she became an academic expert on friendship.
On the bright side, you’re probably used to this as a remote worker! Frequency and consistency in communication are required, especially in the early days. It can be as simple as having a conversation where you’re both online at the same time for a period of time. If each person’s reply is days apart, it’s slower and difficult to build rapport and a deeper relationship.
Reconsider how you network.Networking doesn’t have to be uncomfortable, awkward, scary, or even planned; in fact, you can network just about anywhere. To do this, I challenge myself to chat with at least two people each day when I work from a crowded coffee shop; so far, I’ve made friends with a yoga teacher, fellow writer, and design consultant. Places like San Francisco’s The Assembly or The Wing in New York City and DC are prime for mingling with fellow business owners and freelancers. If you’re into setting up meetings with semi-strangers, be intentional about asking people you admire or may have met in passing to meet you for tea, a walk, or something else.
If you want to make friends, don’t assume that your future friends will have the same background, gender, or age as you. You might be surprised to see what happens when you expand your horizons. When you go into the office, walk around to see who is there. If someone is in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee, take 30 seconds to chat with them.