Do you consider your colleagues as your friends?
Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
I think friendship at workplace is actually not possible and it is an illusion. At workplace you are actually competitors and should be competing in a healthy manner but yet cannot be friends. You cannot be friends with your colleagues in a same department and at the same level. All managers in a department are actually aiming to become department head or VP / Director of that department (as applicable). In a same manner, all department heads aims to lead the company or become CEO of the company. Do you think that you can be so close to your colleague to recommend his / her name to your boss for promotion or higher increments? Certainly you won’t. Working in a team is different. The role of an individual in a company is defined in such a way he or she needs to depend upon the other individual…hence there is interdependency. Team work and professional relationships are different from casual friendship. All other types of relations are just an illusion.
Hence, I like to ask… (Here, we are not considering cross the gender relationships)
What is your relationship with your colleagues at workplace?
Do you consider your colleagues as your friends?
Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
How comfortable are you to share your personal emotions with your colleagues at workplace?
Did you ever found yourself cheated by your colleague because you shared some information with him or her…considering him to be your friend?
Kindly share your views and experiences.
Thanks and Regards
Sanjeev
From India, Mumbai
94Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
I think friendship at workplace is actually not possible and it is an illusion. At workplace you are actually competitors and should be competing in a healthy manner but yet cannot be friends. You cannot be friends with your colleagues in a same department and at the same level. All managers in a department are actually aiming to become department head or VP / Director of that department (as applicable). In a same manner, all department heads aims to lead the company or become CEO of the company. Do you think that you can be so close to your colleague to recommend his / her name to your boss for promotion or higher increments? Certainly you won’t. Working in a team is different. The role of an individual in a company is defined in such a way he or she needs to depend upon the other individual…hence there is interdependency. Team work and professional relationships are different from casual friendship. All other types of relations are just an illusion.
Hence, I like to ask… (Here, we are not considering cross the gender relationships)
What is your relationship with your colleagues at workplace?
Do you consider your colleagues as your friends?
Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
How comfortable are you to share your personal emotions with your colleagues at workplace?
Did you ever found yourself cheated by your colleague because you shared some information with him or her…considering him to be your friend?
Kindly share your views and experiences.
Thanks and Regards
Sanjeev
From India, Mumbai
What is your relationship with your colleagues at workplace?
Just like friends, we discuss personal issues, crack jokes, help each other in times of need etc
Do you consider your colleagues as your friends?
Yes, bcoz in my co. we all are working on a certain project , so till the project is there we are here, and its not like all / any one of us looks to become manager, etc. as we are not going to stay permanently with my company, all of us know the truth that today or tomorrow we have to go, so we take it easy and enjoy life, and just act as friends. and less colleagues, we help each other a lot. so tomorrow even if we finish the project and go here there, we can help each other in future, unlike other scenarios wherin u maintain a top professional relationship and once u leave any job, ur relationship with colleagues ends. even those who have left, a time ago still keep in touch with us, bcoz we were good frnds when we were working.. so they dont feel as if we r different , insipte of fact that de r no more with the company.
Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
except certain critical departmental issues, there is nothing to feel uncomfortable with talking to colleagues, i think and hav experienced so ,but it also depends on what type of colleagues u hav, some take info from here, and tell others and spread news like wildfire, so best is to avoid ppl like them,, but there are colleagues whose wavelength matches with ours, and we get along smoothly..
How comfortable are you to share your personal emotions with your colleagues at workplace?
Well already one colleague discussed her emotions with me, it so happened that we had no work on that day, and just were good friends, so she felt like telling me her personal issue..so when we dont hav any work, and just chit chat in office and no one is there, its natural urge to discuss the personal feelings with colleagues, as u feel the attachement and oneness with em...
Did you ever found yourself cheated by your colleague because you shared some information with him or her…considering him to be your friend?
not yet till today, and hope doesnt happen in future too :-)
From India, Pune
Just like friends, we discuss personal issues, crack jokes, help each other in times of need etc
Do you consider your colleagues as your friends?
Yes, bcoz in my co. we all are working on a certain project , so till the project is there we are here, and its not like all / any one of us looks to become manager, etc. as we are not going to stay permanently with my company, all of us know the truth that today or tomorrow we have to go, so we take it easy and enjoy life, and just act as friends. and less colleagues, we help each other a lot. so tomorrow even if we finish the project and go here there, we can help each other in future, unlike other scenarios wherin u maintain a top professional relationship and once u leave any job, ur relationship with colleagues ends. even those who have left, a time ago still keep in touch with us, bcoz we were good frnds when we were working.. so they dont feel as if we r different , insipte of fact that de r no more with the company.
Do you feel comfortable to talk to your colleagues in a same way as you talk to your friends?
except certain critical departmental issues, there is nothing to feel uncomfortable with talking to colleagues, i think and hav experienced so ,but it also depends on what type of colleagues u hav, some take info from here, and tell others and spread news like wildfire, so best is to avoid ppl like them,, but there are colleagues whose wavelength matches with ours, and we get along smoothly..
How comfortable are you to share your personal emotions with your colleagues at workplace?
Well already one colleague discussed her emotions with me, it so happened that we had no work on that day, and just were good friends, so she felt like telling me her personal issue..so when we dont hav any work, and just chit chat in office and no one is there, its natural urge to discuss the personal feelings with colleagues, as u feel the attachement and oneness with em...
Did you ever found yourself cheated by your colleague because you shared some information with him or her…considering him to be your friend?
not yet till today, and hope doesnt happen in future too :-)
From India, Pune
Yes, I am agreed with your practical approach. Lastly, I also feel that by sharing information to any of staff, bring problemmes. One has to take precaution and be alert!
From India, Ahmadabad
From India, Ahmadabad
Dear Sanjeev,
Yes, I treat my colleagues as a friend but up to stern limit.
Being a head of department I don’t visit their place and don’t keep any personal relation with their family.
I case if you have relation with their family. On though call you can be chased by their family members
Regards
Malhotra
From India, Ahmadabad
Yes, I treat my colleagues as a friend but up to stern limit.
Being a head of department I don’t visit their place and don’t keep any personal relation with their family.
I case if you have relation with their family. On though call you can be chased by their family members
Regards
Malhotra
From India, Ahmadabad
Yeah I do agree with you sandeep. With such a competition and self growth scenerio no one can befriend our colleagues as our Pals.
From India, Hyderabad
From India, Hyderabad
Thanks for your replies. I think…the phrase “as you go up…you make lesser friends”…is very true. The crowd is at down. The higher you go…the loner you become. And the interesting thing is that…this is a fact of life that no one can ignore. Either one should be matured enough to make friends without getting emotionally attached to the person or avoid it.
Just to avoid any confusion….I am not saying that one should not have friends at workplace but having friends in the same department and/or at same level…is a rare sight.
Thanks again.
From India, Mumbai
Just to avoid any confusion….I am not saying that one should not have friends at workplace but having friends in the same department and/or at same level…is a rare sight.
Thanks again.
From India, Mumbai
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