Making real work friends when your work is virtual Dropbox Blog

A quick follow-up message is the perfect way to transition that random comment from a meeting into a long-term conversation . Remote Control Keep on top of your work from home life with these tips and ideas from our team to yours. Digital Nomads are individuals that leverage technology in order to work remotely and live an independent and nomadic lifestyle. Clicking the button below gives you access to special offers, monthly giveaways, and the beginnings of a beautiful friendship. Check out more of our blog for stories about travel, remote work, and living life as a nomad. Attending events like company and product launches, press conferences or even just general industry meet-ups is a great way to meet like-minded individuals.

Making Friends If You Work Remotely

Or one person might research and do a presentation. Companies across the United States are delaying their back-to-the-office dates. And a recent McKinsey report says that percent of the workforces in advanced economies could work from home between three and five days a week without a loss of productivity. Using the Flywheel Model for Fun and Profit There are loads of ways to grow a company. Atlassian chose the “flywheel” approach early on, and let’s just say we don’t regret it.

Coworking Spaces

To me, there’s something a little awkward about making friends at work. I feel a little like an eager eight-year-old, ready to give a BFF matching heart necklace to the first colleague who I have more than a passing cordial relationship with. (Jane, you’re the next target.) But what are the pros of playing it too cool? Probably whatever the work equivalent is to playing alone at recess.

Is remote working better for mental health?

Lower stress levels

According to a study by PGi, 82% of surveyed remote workers related the possibility of more flexible work arrangements with lower stress levels. This comes from the fact that having control over the way we work increases job satisfaction and slows down the burnout.

Amongst the top 3 things that people are afraid of before becoming a digital nomad is how they are going to make friends while traveling. Not everybody is super outgoing and can approach strangers like it’s no big deal. So far, that’s meant coffees, social gatherings, and games over Zoom.

Get socialising

Or they might have other issues, like a difficult history with your department or predecessor. A colleague’s communication how to make friends when you work from home style might offer insight. When you figure out their communication preferences, you’ll know the best way to respond.

  • Feeling connected at work is linked to our satisfaction and productivity at work.
  • This can happen naturally, explains Beck, like getting coffee after work.
  • There will be times when you just don’t feel like putting in the effort of meeting someone new.
  • Sure, many of us enjoy working in the comfort of our own living rooms — but to make friends, it’s going to help if you put yourself out there.

Luckily, there are also plenty of digital nomad Reddit communities on this platform. Kayla is a remote work and digital nomad blogger at Writing From Nowhere. She encourages readers to leave convention behind and find their bliss working online and seeing the world. On Writing From Nowhere, readers can find help with leaving their 9-5, thriving at remote work, running an online business, and more. If you want to become friends with locals, check out language schools that offer tandem partners. You will get a local “buddy” who helps you learn the local language while you help him or her learn yours.

Give Coworking Spaces a Try

Once you’ve made two or three emerging work friendships, it’s time to move on to step four. Whether you’re one of the people who’s started a new job over the pandemic or you’re just someone with a few new teammates, this is especially why making friends at work is so important. This has taken a toll on workers, whose profound loneliness is evident not only in the data but the numerous self-reports emerging from media sources of all kinds. The remote work world seems to have taken not only our ability to communicate with colleagues but also our potential for fostering friendships. But interacting doesn’t always have to mean hopping on a video call. Fill in the gaps by joining conversations in Slack, sharing emoji reactions, and liking social posts. The more you engage with a person, the stronger a professional relationship—and personal friendship—you can build.

  • We become friends with the people we see all the time – our next-door neighbor, the college classmate who sat next to us in the lecture hall, or the colleague who shared our cubicle wall.
  • In the wake of a voter-approved law, Subaru and Kia dealers in Massachusetts have disabled systems that allow remote starts and send maintenance alerts.
  • You will get a local “buddy” who helps you learn the local language while you help him or her learn yours.
  • I hope there won’t be too many lonely times in your digital nomad journey though.
  • Or maybe do an organized group day trip to explore the area.