How To Make Friends When You Work Remotely
Learning how to make friends in a remote work environment is a good skill to learn. Joining hobby groups within the office, based on your interests, can help you meet colleagues who share your passions. Think of your workplace as one of the best places to make friends since you’re likely to see these people often, says Nelson. We often think likable people are funny or smart or charismatic, but the secret to being likable is actually to like people.
You can have friendly and productive interactions with people on your team, without going the extra mile to be friends with them. Sure, in 2021, it’s much easier to have your right-swiping do the talking when it comes to making a partnership. Here are some motivational tips and ideas that will help you make new friends while working remotely. Now that you have stopped talking about work, start sharing stories. According to a meta-analysis (which combines data from multiple studies), people like people who disclose details about themselves. Another study found that when people answered a series of intimate questions, they felt closer afterward.
Strike Up Conversations
Again, it’s just the act of going that can lead to social interactions and help you learn how to make friends when you work from home. Even if your team has not arranged any informal coffee sessions lately, you can present the idea to initiate it and enjoy some free time with your remote colleagues. You can share your stories or talk about your hobbies and favorite TV shows during this time to build friendships.
I did B-School a few years back, and really appreciate you and your team.” We appreciate you. “In business, I’m comfortable being vulnerable online, but I realized that I’m not at all comfortable talking to people in person about what I do. I’ve recently moved to New York City, and there’s no shortage of humans. However, I’m struggling to get out from behind the screen and have real conversations.
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If your online team is planning a virtual coffee session or cocktail, you should better not miss it. Offices often organize virtual meetups for remote teams to improve their communication skills. You can avail the full benefit of such events by not missing them. Friendship is not built from one interaction; it grows gradually. According to the mere exposure effect, we unconsciously like those we are more exposed to.
And, most important, it’ll be fresh and it won’t be formulic. Slack, Zoom, and other online collaboration tools have made working from home a more social affair than ever. If you’re lucky enough to have an employer who organizes virtual parties or happy hours, make every effort to attend. Just talking about it can open up the opportunity to socialize and make a friend at the virtual office. If you are athletic, then this is perhaps one of the best tips for making new friends when you work from home. Joining a sports team will help you not only meet new people, but it will allow you to work on key traits that are required in any friendship.
Say ‘thank you’ and ‘good job’
Freelancing and entrepreneurship are on an upswing and there are far more opportunities to make new friends. You can also use social media to find out what’s happening in your area, so that you can get out and about more often. Most of us want other people to find us and our businesses interesting and captivating and fascinating. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20% to 40%. The physical, mental and emotional consequences are serious. Some research indicates that loneliness might be as much of health risk as smoking.
Prepare questions you’d like to ask them about their role and work, and take notes. This will keep the conversation flowing and give you valuable information about what role they play in the company, and how it relates to yours. Connecting with other people from other teams isn’t just practically important for company progress. Experts Nancy Baym, Jonathan Larson and Ronnie Martin from Harvard Business Review argue that these connections define social capital.
Check out local meetups.
Try calling your colleagues when you have a work-related question instead of shooting them an email. Even a quick five-minute conversation can do wonders to help you feel more connected to the outside world. Being a remote worker doesn’t always mean how to make friends when you work from home you have to work from home. In fact, a change of scenery every now and again can do wonders for your motivation as well as help you to make new connections. It’s no secret that loneliness has been linked with negative mental health outcomes.
When setting goals for the future, talk to your boss and team about infusing collaborative elements into your projects. Even if you’ve been working at a small company for years, you may not know everyone there, especially new hires. The best way to do this is to find time on that person’s calendar and schedule in a session. This will minimize the back and forth and ensure you actually get some time to meet them. In these remote work times, some of the more natural opportunities for praise – like head nodding in a meeting or a quick “nice work! Everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work, so take a minute to send a text or an email letting someone know you noticed them.
