To the 2018 Global Co-Working Forecast, 1.7 million people will be working from shared spaces by the end of 2018. That is ample opportunity to periodically recreate the morning water cooler chat! Co-working spaces are really coming into their own, with some even taking it a step further and becoming social clubs. For example, The Wing in New York City and Washington, D.C. Is a co-working space and community just for women that also hosts events like film screenings and conversations with local politicians. As someone who recently started a new job with a far-flung team, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make friends.

• Taking the findings from a study aboutactivity preferences among friends, researchers found “the opportunity to engage in mutually pleasurable activities may be a stronger motive in friendship choice…”.
• When you’re all working under the same roof, team building days and lunches out are the obvious choices.
• Between April 2020 and February 2021, Microsoft’s 2020 Work Trend Index reported that work relationships have shifted in an unfortunate direction.
• But volunteering at work is also a great way to meet more people within your organization and develop friendships.
• She is passionate about addressing trauma, shame, grief, and mental health issues to assist her clients to live more productive and happy lives.
• People, not paperwork and policies, should be the focus when you’re bringing someone new into the mix.
• I know I’m always happy to meet up with IG followers when we cross paths.

Both the Gallup and Wildgoose surveys found that people with close work friends were more confident and composed in finding solutions to their problems because they have friends supporting them. Work is often a means to an end, and jobs come with stressors and unexpected events that are out of your control. Awork best friend can help make the hours spent in the workplace happier and more purposeful.

Final thoughts about making friends in a new city

Building a friendship with someone you work with takes time, and maintaining that kind of relationship can have its own unique challenges. Don’t get down on yourself if work friend seeds are taking a while to grow—that’s normal! Keep it up with regular contact, whether that’s in-person or online. Hell, there’s even a book calledThe Power of Yesabout all of the enriching things that tiny word can bring you.

There’s nothing wrong with you if you have a hard time making friends as an adult. When interacting online, it may help to remember such research because while you might assume that you’re not well-liked after a conversation, your assumption might be inaccurate. So try to be gentle with yourself and others when trying to make friends while engaging online. Furthermore, the “liking gap” can be amplified when you speak to others through online mediums. For example, a 2014 research study found that communication delays of even 1.2 seconds made people believe that others were less friendly or not as focused on them.

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It’s not embarrassing, desperate or clingy to ask someone if they want to get a drink or coffee, even if it’s over a video call. Choose a milestone, like a big project or deadline, or perhaps the start of a new venture as your launching point for a prospective hangout.

No matter what your approach, be that person who genuinely wants to know more about others, and then listen to them like they are the only person on the planet. Because the best connections rarely come from you talking. If you’re hustling toward a fitness goal, there’s undoubtedly a community out there sweating along with you. 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. Whatever lights your fire after you close the laptop is the perfect gateway to a new friendship. Maybe your local soup kitchen has a rooftop garden that is always looking for a few spare hands.

Reconnecting With Old Friends

But the overnight switch to Zoom calls and working from home really just accelerated what was already happening in institutions everywhere. Even if you are not able to cover the cost everyone’s food for your own communal meal, you can make it feel like a group experience by choosing the menu and curating the guest list. Or, if you’re doing “shared meals” with classmates or peers, make it a habit by switching off who covers the cost each time. My favorite example of this practice happens at the 10-person distributed company Lawyerist, which holds regular “Taco Tuesday” lunches. Team members join a video call to share lunch together. Simulating the communal meal, each person order tacos from their favorite local restaurant. It’s completely optional to join, but anyone who comes and shows their tacos gets the cost of the meal covered by the company.

A 2018 journal article chronicled how folx underestimated how much others liked them after engaging in conversations, a phenomenon called the “liking gap.” For example, you might try logging into a virtual arts and crafts event and make an effort to engage with the other attendees. https://remotemode.net/ You can also sign up for an online course that may require you to work with your classmates. Verywell Mind content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

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Whether you’re travelling or at home, observe normal safety advice when meeting people in a new city. Arrange dates in public places and tell someone your plans. After meeting April in Mexico City, she invited me to join her book club.

It’s why, as cities and workplaces increasingly open up, finding that balance between the physical and virtual will be key. In the absence of better tools, the chance to meet and see our colleagues again will almost certainly make the virtual side of our relationships stronger than if they were virtual all the time. Your new routine, local customs and language barriers can be figured out by research and through exploring, but one big piece to the how to make friends when you work from home puzzle takes a different kind of approach. Meeting people with the intention of making friends is typically a new challenge for working professionals. In our home bases, we have each built our networks over time organically. Through work, family, friends of friends, making connections didn’t require as much effort. Though when you leave your comfort zone and set out to live like a digital nomad, creating new friendships is more intentional.

Join an intramural sports team

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Now that you have stopped talking about work, start sharing stories. According to a meta-analysis , people like people who disclose details about themselves. Another study found that when people answered a series of intimate questions, they felt closer afterward. A coworking space may be an awesome way to transition from office life to life as a remote worker. If you’d rather not deal with that pressure, a coworking space makes a great place to meet other people you already have something in common with (i.e., remote work). So casually mention activities you’d like to do with other people, like starting a team for trivia night or taking a cooking class, and your contact may recommend someone in their network to meet up with.

Digital nomads sometimes earn a bad rep for not trying to assimilate and get to know locals, this is the perfect way to make local connections from the start. It may require knowledge of the local language to get your foot in the door, but the opportunities to meet others with common interests while helping a great cause is worth it.

• Workplace friends reduce burnout and boost productivity.
• In addition to helping avoid burnout, work friends bring other positive gains.
• For example, in certain industries, such as medicine, the focus on intense and serious medical procedures may require a level of attention that makes small talk and friendly banter distracting.
• Opportunities for team building can boost workplace friendship potential.
• A travel community like WiFi Tribe will take your social life from 0 to 100 in no time.
• Through work, family, friends of friends, making connections didn’t require as much effort.
• You could help them imagine what it must be like in your shoes by joking about the challenges of learning about your new organization from afar.
• Hard skills are important, but can in many cases be taught.