1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: tip is to celebrate your work best friends. Don't take 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,440 Speaker 1: it for granted that you have colleagues who are also 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: real friends. Make a point of acknowledging and enjoying these relationships. 6 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: So maybe you have heard about research on the benefits 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: of work friendships. Gallup's employee engagement surveys regularly find that 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: having a work best friend is highly correlated with engagement. 9 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: According to an article from Gallup by Alec Patel and 10 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: Stephanie Plowman, employees who have a best friend at work 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,639 Speaker 1: are significantly more likely to engage customers and internal partners, 12 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: get more done in less time, innovate and share ideas, 13 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: and have fun while at work. That all sounds pretty 14 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: good to me. And while the idea of a work 15 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: best friend or BFF might sound a little like the 16 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: middle school cafeteria, a really good friend is someone you 17 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: would willingly spend time with at nights and on weekends. 18 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: The fact that you get to spend time with that 19 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: person during the work day is like a life bonus 20 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: all around. So if you do have a work best 21 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: friend or friends, acknowledge how awesome that is. You are lucky. 22 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: And then, because I firmly believe that people can help 23 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: their own luck along, you can double down on this 24 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: by making that relationship a priority. After all, if your 25 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: work best friend makes you more productive, then time you 26 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: spend with this person benefits your employer well. So try 27 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: to schedule time where you regularly get together. Can you 28 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: do a weekly lunch date. You could pack lunches and 29 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: meet in the break room, or if you're both remote, 30 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: you could have a virtual lunch over zoom. If you 31 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: tend to work the same hours in the same place, 32 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: then make a habit of walking to the subway station 33 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: or the parking lot together every night. This has the 34 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: added benefit of making sure you guys hold each other 35 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: accountable for leaving at the end hour you intend. When 36 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: your work best friend stops by your desk to say hello, 37 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: make time to chat. Very few things can't wait for 38 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: at least a few minutes. Also, be ready to support 39 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: your work best friend in her professional efforts. If she 40 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: wants extra eyes on an email about a difficult situation, 41 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: offer feedback if you can. If she wants to talk 42 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: through an upcoming meeting she's leading. Be her sounding board. 43 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: Be the first to chime in with cheers after she 44 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: has rocked a presentation. With your words, actions, even facial expressions, 45 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: let her know that there is someone in her corner 46 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: rooting for her. And if you are considering a job 47 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: at another company, don't forget about your work best friend. 48 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: Leaving behind your work best friend is a real consideration. 49 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: Sure you can get together outside of work, but for 50 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: busy people that is going to be challenging. A new 51 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: job needs to be really great to compensate for leaving 52 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: a work best friend behind. Or hey, maybe she wants 53 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: to come work at the new place too, if they're 54 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,559 Speaker 1: doing a lot of hiring. In any case, work friendships 55 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: are important, so celebrate them and make time for them. 56 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: You and your employer will likely win as a result. 57 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:08,839 Speaker 1: If you have a work best friend, I would love 58 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: to hear more about your friendship. You can reach me 59 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, 60 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making 61 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast. 62 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach 63 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast 64 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, 65 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 66 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.