Let’s bond over work
Colleagues fill the gap left behind by friends from school and college
According to a new study, you are more likely to meet your Best Friend Forever (BFF) at your workplace rather than at school or college or through hobby classes or family. A study in Britain observed that one out of three workers find their best friend amongst their colleagues. Supporting the study, many city youngsters say they indeed make better friends with helpful colleagues.
Pradeep Behl, a banker, agrees with this. Talking about his bonding with a colleague, he says this is one friendship that has stood the test of time. “Not that I don’t have friends from my school, but friends I make at my workplace remain the closest. Pawan (Khattar) and I became friends at my third job when we were both executives in the same office/branch. Though we are both heading different branches now, we are still as thick as we were when we started out. We talk regularly and make sure to get each other gifts when we travel. I think we gelled well because we became friends at a very mature age. There was no scope for misunderstandings like the way it happens at a tender age when you are in school or college,” says Pradeep who has been friends with Pawan over eight years now.
Many feel that colleagues fill the gap left behind by friends from school and college. Rachna Shukla, a chartered accountant says, “Your colleagues are the ones you spend considerable time with. Your friends from schools and colleges are left behind, as everyone tends to get busy with their respective lives and careers. There comes a gap when you don’t talk with them regularly. But with colleagues, there is no such thing. You meet them everyday and spend a major chunk of the day with them. You laugh with them, share things, and when you work as a team, you ought to become friends.”
Anukaran Malik, a businessman, feels these friendships last longer as you share many things with your colleagues. “Being in the same office, your colleagues understand your job and professional requirements more than anyone else. You can share any professional things with them and you bond the best when you both crib about your bosses or the management. And there are days when you take work home or get home to office. Your colleagues are mostly privy to all this and they help you out. Though I am running my own business now, I still hang out with my friends from the office I worked at,” he says.
Journalist Manu Shankar throws in the last bit of caution. “You spend eight hours at your workplace so you are bound to share things with your most trusted colleague, but you need to choose wisely. There can be competitive colleagues — stay away from them,” he says.
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