Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to celebrate your work best friends. Don't take
Speaker 1: it for granted that you have colleagues who are also
Speaker 1: real friends. Make a point of acknowledging and enjoying these relationships.
Speaker 1: So maybe you have heard about research on the benefits
Speaker 1: of work friendships. Gallup's employee engagement surveys regularly find that
Speaker 1: having a work best friend is highly correlated with engagement.
Speaker 1: According to an article from Gallup by Alec Patel and
Speaker 1: Stephanie Plowman, employees who have a best friend at work
Speaker 1: are significantly more likely to engage customers and internal partners,
Speaker 1: get more done in less time, innovate and share ideas,
Speaker 1: and have fun while at work. That all sounds pretty
Speaker 1: good to me. And while the idea of a work
Speaker 1: best friend or BFF might sound a little like the
Speaker 1: middle school cafeteria, a really good friend is someone you
Speaker 1: would willingly spend time with at nights and on weekends.
Speaker 1: The fact that you get to spend time with that
Speaker 1: person during the work day is like a life bonus
Speaker 1: all around. So if you do have a work best
Speaker 1: friend or friends, acknowledge how awesome that is. You are lucky.
Speaker 1: And then, because I firmly believe that people can help
Speaker 1: their own luck along, you can double down on this
Speaker 1: by making that relationship a priority. After all, if your
Speaker 1: work best friend makes you more productive, then time you
Speaker 1: spend with this person benefits your employer well. So try
Speaker 1: to schedule time where you regularly get together. Can you
Speaker 1: do a weekly lunch date. You could pack lunches and
Speaker 1: meet in the break room, or if you're both remote,
Speaker 1: you could have a virtual lunch over zoom. If you
Speaker 1: tend to work the same hours in the same place,
Speaker 1: then make a habit of walking to the subway station
Speaker 1: or the parking lot together every night. This has the
Speaker 1: added benefit of making sure you guys hold each other
Speaker 1: accountable for leaving at the end hour you intend. When
Speaker 1: your work best friend stops by your desk to say hello,
Speaker 1: make time to chat. Very few things can't wait for
Speaker 1: at least a few minutes. Also, be ready to support
Speaker 1: your work best friend in her professional efforts. If she
Speaker 1: wants extra eyes on an email about a difficult situation,
Speaker 1: offer feedback if you can. If she wants to talk
Speaker 1: through an upcoming meeting she's leading. Be her sounding board.
Speaker 1: Be the first to chime in with cheers after she
Speaker 1: has rocked a presentation. With your words, actions, even facial expressions,
Speaker 1: let her know that there is someone in her corner
Speaker 1: rooting for her. And if you are considering a job
Speaker 1: at another company, don't forget about your work best friend.
Speaker 1: Leaving behind your work best friend is a real consideration.
Speaker 1: Sure you can get together outside of work, but for
Speaker 1: busy people that is going to be challenging. A new
Speaker 1: job needs to be really great to compensate for leaving
Speaker 1: a work best friend behind. Or hey, maybe she wants
Speaker 1: to come work at the new place too, if they're
Speaker 1: doing a lot of hiring. In any case, work friendships
Speaker 1: are important, so celebrate them and make time for them.
Speaker 1: You and your employer will likely win as a result.
Speaker 1: If you have a work best friend, I would love
Speaker 1: to hear more about your friendship. You can reach me
Speaker 1: at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to before breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.