Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have one really good friend at work, and several casual friends. In a decent sized company, I really don't expect to be good friends with the majority of my co-workers. I have plenty of non-work friends. And I just don't have enough time or emotional energy to be close or best friends with more than five people at once. I need my private alone time to recharge every day, plus I have a boyfriend and pets. And even though it sounds terrible, I am grateful that my family lives on the West Coast.
I mean a team works better than a collection of individuals. That is what the term 'synergy' actually means. Work teams where the individuals are friends produce more results on the job than work teams where individuals are not friends.
I refuse to be a part of a team. And when everyone is responsible for completing their own work, you can accurately gauge who should be retained and who should be removed.
It is a better system than having the better, more productive workers doing work that isn't their responsibility, and having the slackers get the credit for completing it.
I think the key is working with people in your similar situation, whatever that may be. People who are married often hang out with other married people. People with kids tend to hang out with people with kids. Being single and not having kids gives you more free time to be social but often must find other single and like minded people to do that with and the older you get, the more difficult that seems to be.
I totally agree with this. I've made several good friends at my current job, and did the same at my previous job, but as I get older more and more of my peers are married with kids. We're still friends of course, but it's harder to get time with them outside of work because they have more family responsibilities, understandably. But I'm single and only responsible for myself. But we do eat lunch together on most work days, where we chat and laugh about work, life, everything. It's a fun escape in the middle of the day, and I'd hate to work these long hours without having some friends around during those hours. Even just "work friends" who you don't socialize with outside of the office make the work day so much more pleasant.
I always try to be welcoming to new employees, invite them to lunch or at least stop by their desk once in a while to say Hi and be social during their first few weeks at the office. Sometimes we have similar personalities and become friends, and other times we don't and that's fine too. But either way it's good to reach out to new colleagues because it can be lonely to be the new person, trying to fit in and get to know other people and *gasp* maybe even make some friends.
I refuse to be a part of a team. And when everyone is responsible for completing their own work, you can accurately gauge who should be retained and who should be removed.
It is a better system than having the better, more productive workers doing work that isn't their responsibility, and having the slackers get the credit for completing it.
You must enjoy yourself when the office goes out for lattes together
No, it doesn't. You don't have to like your coworkers to do your jobs. After your shift is over, you can go home and not be required to deal with them. Unless you're stupid enough to live with them too.
100% truth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hnsq
lol...no...
I mean a team works better than a collection of individuals. That is what the term 'synergy' actually means. Work teams where the individuals are friends produce more results on the job than work teams where individuals are not friends.
True, as long as all are on the same page. But the group doesn't have to be friends in order to produce more results, they just need to have a common goal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TKramar
I refuse to be a part of a team. And when everyone is responsible for completing their own work, you can accurately gauge who should be retained and who should be removed.
It is a better system than having the better, more productive workers doing work that isn't their responsibility, and having the slackers get the credit for completing it.
Ditto. It sucks that a few members don't pull their weight, yet get the credit for what the rest of the group does.
I am unemployed now but back when I was working the main thing I noticed at the office is how little friendly non work conversation there was at the many places I used to work. Back before the Internet and email there use to be more pleasant conversation and true friendships at the office but now days it seems like most conversation is over the phone or via email. I rarely heard friendly non work conversation in my office just the sound of fingers against the keyboard and loads of people staring into their computers. It was so quiet it reminded me of a science fiction movie.
So, at your office is there much friendship and non work related conversation between coworkers?
sorry i know there are 30+ posts in this thread but i've only read a few so i don't know if this has already been said but here goes: 1. i think if chit chat at work is minimal, it's a good thing. 2. i think people who oversocialize at work don't have a good social life outside of work. i detest people who oversocialize at work. i think they're defective people. 3. i think overall there has been no decline in workplace chit chat. 4. i think reality tv has increased workplace chit chat slightly but in some cases reality tv can actually help (yes help) reduce workplace gossip if the gossips are gossipping about reality tv stars instead of each other.
sorry i know there are 30+ posts in this thread but i've only read a few so i don't know if this has already been said but here goes: 1. i think if chit chat at work is minimal, it's a good thing. 2. i think people who oversocialize at work don't have a good social life outside of work. i detest people who oversocialize at work. i think they're defective people. 3. i think overall there has been no decline in workplace chit chat. 4. i think reality tv has increased workplace chit chat slightly but in some cases reality tv can actually help (yes help) reduce workplace gossip if the gossips are gossipping about reality tv stars instead of each other.
Not on my job. People still gossip about each other. It's trivial stuff too. It's always the same people too. Lame!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But we do eat lunch together on most work days, where we chat and laugh about work, life, everything. It's a fun escape in the middle of the day, and I'd hate to work these long hours without having some friends around during those hours. Even just "work friends" who you don't socialize with outside of the office make the work day so much more pleasant.
