How to make work friends when your job is virtual

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make friends when you work from home. Now, I’m not talking about an elevator pitch or a static way to answer the question, “So, what do you do? But what I am talking about is just a simple line that you can use to introduce yourself to anyone at any time. But you want to know what makes people really interested in you? I mean, you could offer them a genuine compliment, you could ask some questions, or have some fun with some go-to icebreakers. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20% to 40%. The physical, mental and emotional consequences are serious.

Friendships work best when you and your friend feel comfortable just being yourselves. Embrace your best qualities and let them shine when you’re with your friend, but don’t try to be something you’re not just to please or impress them. Many people think that in order to be seen as „friend material,“ they have to appear very interesting. Far more important than this, however, is the ability to show that you’re interested in others. Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about them , ask questions about their interests, and just take the time to learn more about them. If you don’t present a friendly and inviting appearance, people are less likely to be receptive to your friendship.

How to Make Remote Work Friends

Shared proximity is probably responsible for most, if not all the friendships you form before you’re an independent adult. Reddit is a great place to start if you’re looking for online forums. Many subreddit communities (Reddit’s term for groups) cater to remote workers. You can find subreddits for almost any interest, including freelancing, digital nomads, entrepreneurship, and more. Discord is an excellent platform for finding online communities where you can chat with other remote workers about shared interests and challenges.

• 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.
• Lunchroom chat usually involves any topic and is the perfect opportunity to bond with the people that you work with.
• With motorcycles, I simply started asking around – anyone have a friend who rides, and might want to ride together?
• And, most important, it’ll be fresh and it won’t be formulic.
• The idea here would be to find activity partners that can become people you know.
• According to the mere exposure effect, we unconsciously like those we are more exposed to.

One of the best ways to make a new friend is to simply be interested in them as a person. Ask them about their hobbies, favorite books, etc. Step number two is be interested, not interesting. Most of us want other people to find us and our businesses interesting and captivating and fascinating. While there are countless upsides to working from home, there’s one consistent challenge — and it’s a serious one.

Find A Spiritual Community

It helps if we have a trusted confidant at our organization — someone who makes us feel worthwhile and whom we can celebrate and commiserate with. The past few years have been tough and chaotic for many working people.

Yes, there are a number of online resources available to help you make connections and build relationships when working remotely. Additionally, many companies offer internal events and activities for their employees that can be a great way to get connected with your colleagues. Yes, working from home can make it more difficult to meet people and form relationships. However, with a bit of effort and creativity, you can still connect with others in your area and expand your social circle. Suggestions include joining local coffee shops or real-life events related to your interests, as well as participating in virtual coffee chats or happy hours with your co-workers. 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.

Don’t force it

But colleagues who tended to be more available and responsive to one another were more likely develop a work-related cadence—and with that groundwork in place, more likely to become friends. It takes effort—and not just on your part, but from colleagues, managers and leaders, too. New technology and ways of working certainly wouldn’t hurt. And because working virtually is different from office work in so many ways, it also means rethinking how and why we make friends at work in the first place. Always remember, you are not the only adult who is lonely and adult friendships are a lot different than school friendships. Not to mention the task of becoming friends with people becomes pretty difficult. If you don’t have the option of connecting with other people regularly through your job, you may find friendship to be no easy feat.

She is the founder of Travel with Meena, a travel site working to center the stories of travelers of color. Meena has worked as an editor and newsroom leader for several major media companies and coaches women journalists through the Digital Women Leaders media coaching program. Give them their space, and consider connecting with colleagues who are more public and open to interacting on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and beyond. That colleague how to make friends when you work from home who’s always sharing recipes and photos of the gorgeous meals they make on their personal blog will probably appreciate your likes and comments on their posts. If you’re struggling to come up with the right words, ask your new colleague to tell you more about their role or their team. You can also ask what advice they may have for a new hire. Some people love sharing the things they wish they’d known when they were in your shoes.

Powerful Habits Every Man Should Try at Least Once In His Life

You are often cut off from the water cooler conversations and random interactions that you would normally have in an office setting. And while video calls and Slack messages can help to some extent, they can never fully replace in-person interactions. In many offices, friendships are built naturally during lunch, or over dinners grabbed after work. These casual, relaxed times can be crucial for getting to know more about coworkers and finding shared interests and passions. If you live in the same city, you can still make these moments of casual connection happen; you just have to formally create them.