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Now that you’re an expert friend-maker, and you’ve warmed up to the people you talk to on a frequent basis, you’re ready to spread your wings and fly to your extended network. Microsoft’s 2020 Work Trend Index showed that as the pandemic progressed, people discarded their broader networks and relied more on the people in their immediate social circles. how to make friends when you work from home To branch back out and meet some friendly faces, you can easily venture outside the office using the office friends you’ve already made. If you’re all remote, just extend your ice cream-eating and TV-watching into a group chat form, and see if you all click. Once you’ve made two or three emerging work friendships, it’s time to move on to step four.
- Other transition ideas might be pouring a fresh cup of tea or coffee, doing a quick stretch, or setting a focus timer (I use the Tide app on my phone).
- Arrange virtual coffees or happy hours to connect with people.
- Just as too much blue light from our screens can keep us up at night, a healthy dose of bright artificial light during the day can also help keep our 24-hour internal clock in sync.
- The sooner you deal with this problem, the better because it may impact the way you perform.
- If your online team is planning a virtual coffee session or cocktail, you should better not miss it.
- “And the research shows that those are key ingredients to friend making.
Offices have been designed with work in mind, and the prevailing view is that work is somehow the opposite of play. But, as play researcher Brian Sutton-Smith says, “The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.” Bringing your work home gives you a chance to invite more play into your workflow. Other transition ideas might be pouring a fresh cup of tea or coffee, doing a quick stretch, or setting a focus timer (I use the Tide app on my phone). You can also block that time out for free, unstructured time, something most adults don’t get enough of.
Company
The best way to build social capital at your company is to be specific with these introductions. Prepare questions you’d like to ask them about their role and work, and take notes. This will keep the conversation flowing and give you valuable information about what role they play in the company, and how it relates to yours. As always, good old-fashioned methods of connecting are important, too, Howe adds.
You might also consider local stores and studios for creative activities like cooking, dancing, or jewelry making. Kantor says she sees a trend among her hybrid workplace clients in which teams or even the entire workforce are in the office on the same days. Everyone may be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or the marketing team may be in office from Monday through Wednesday and other teams may have their own in-office days. She advises that both employers and employees be “purposeful” about choosing their in-office days for productivity reasons, but also to reinforce workplace relationships.
First, Commit to Being More Social IRL
“While it is not essential to have friends at work, it is certainly a lot more pleasant when you do,” says chartered psychologist Dr Audrey Tang, author of The Leader’s Guide to Resilience . “Research has found that work friends can become ‘communities of coping’ – people you can turn to at times of stress who really ‘get it’.” If you know anyone who struggles with loneliness or social isolation, share this post. Whether you’re a super busy entrepreneur or feel shy and introverted, social connections and community are crucial to your well-being. Unfortunately, the older we get the more of a back burner our hobbies take. One of the best tips in making new friends is joining a club or group that is centered around a hobby of your choice.
One of the best tips for making new friends when you work at home is getting yourself out there for these professional events. Some helpful thing to do would be to start looking up professional events that pertain to your area of expertise. Once you have narrowed them down, you have opened up an opportunity to mingle and network with like-minded people.
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For the most part, tryouts are not a thing that exists with community run recreational activities. When it comes to switching up your workspace, some of the best spaces are the ones that you probably already frequent. For example, try taking your laptop and working from a coffee shop instead. If you want to work during lunch hour, then a bistro would be another great place to go to. When you change up your landscape, you give yourself an opportunity to experience more people throughout the day. And of course, with this comes the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.
Additionally, after working from home for two years, it’s actually really fun to hang out with other human beings around lunch time. Having lunch and goofing around with my coworkers was awesome for me, and it was a bit lonely to eat at home every day. But more and more remote workers are choosing to work from home – be it to save money, or because they want to spend more time with their family.
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And if you don’t have much natural light in your space, use lamps to boost the brightness. Just as too much blue light from our screens can keep us up at night, a healthy dose of bright artificial light during the day can also help keep our 24-hour internal clock in sync. When you work from home, you can be like those workers in the study who controlled their own workspace — and create a sensory landscape that works for you.
- Howe’s team has found a way to make connection a little easier from afar.
- Pizzica has had plenty of conversations with fellow team members that started because of something she or they noticed about their background.
- If you are looking to go back to school or are just looking to learn something new and exciting, then this can be a great way to meet new people.
- If you’ve recently moved to the area, or don’t have too many friends to bring, don’t hesitate to tell your understanding new work friend, as they’ll bring the party for you.
- Back before there were meetups popping up everywhere, most of my entrepreneurial friends were online friends.
- Again, it’s just the act of going that can lead to social interactions and help you learn how to make friends when you work from home.
- In the summer, I’d print out the latest draft and take it with me and sit in the shade while marking it up.
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. Don’t stop there – here’s where you can really connect with some new faces by planning out some office-adjacent fun. Making an effort to have fun might seem like it’s draining some of the excitement, as spontaneity can often be both refreshing and informative.
