Shaun Stenning: Professional ways to make friends at work

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Shaun Stenning
Shaun Stenning

The success of an organization is always determined by teamwork. Therefore, for effective teamwork, friendship at work will boost long-term on-the-job morale, improve productivity, and contribute to a better overall work-life balance. It may be challenging to make friends, but in most cases, the best shot of people are the ones we meet at the workplace, but you may want to keep a respectful distance since you are in a professional environment. According to Shaun Stenning, here are effective, actionable steps you can take to begin developing professional workplace relationships.

  • Introduce yourself

If you haven’t done it, introduce yourself to your coworkers. It will help you establish an initial relationship to develop the foundation for future quality relationships. If you’ve already met staff in your department, do the same for those in other departments. It will help you find great connections and people with common interests in different parts of your company.

  • Improve your mood

Staff who are friendly like to enjoy a sense of comradery to give them space where they can chat about their work achievements and personal lives and find unity with their peers. Therefore improving your mood will help build morale and boost your attitude at work.

  • Attend all work events

All work events are always company sponsored. However, staff may plan for a work event to hang out after work. If you react to such events in more relaxed socializing with coworkers, you miss out on opportunities to make real connections.

  • Eat lunch or get coffee with coworkers.

Make it a norm to eat with your coworkers at least a few times a week. It gets more fun; heading to the local lunchtime eatery is another fun way to make friends. It creates a friendly environment that’s not office based for you and your colleagues to interact freely. 

  • Use greetings and ask questions.

Say ” hello” at the start and “goodbye ” at the end of your shift to your colleagues. You can extend your interactions by asking questions about their weekend, hobbies, or any information they might volunteer for in a friendly manner. Asking questions and paying attention will make them see you care. A natural and social conversation develops the more frequently you interact with people in your workplace.

Conclusion While making friends at the workplace comes easily to some people, others struggle. It all starts with making initiatives. From Shaun Stenning‘s tips, you can find it easier to make friendly relationships with your colleagues professionally and understand its importance.