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Yeah, I know it's just part of life, but wow.
Seems like it was so much a part of my life and then POOF....come Friday it is no longer a part of my life at all really.
I guess you're young? Yes, it's emotional, sometimes we spend more time in a day with our colleagues than our family. But this is about growing, right? Just like childhood, college, relationships, something comes to an end and a new chapter begins. But you are doing the right thing, you can still stay in touch, email, texting, social media, any number of ways to keep your relationships alive.
Yeah, I know it's just part of life, but wow.
Seems like it was so much a part of my life and then POOF....come Friday it is no longer a part of my life at all really.
I can sympathize, and I wanted to point out that it's a double whammy when you retire. It's one thing to leave behind the friends you made when you move from one job to another, but when you retire you might also be thinking "geez, I worked hard at school for xxx years, did job training as a newbie for xxx years, and then finally became proficient, experienced and good at my job after all those years; now that the job is much easier I've decided to abandon everything as well as leave so many good friends???"
I don't regret retiring but I sure had some strong feelings about leaving everything behind. On the other hand, maybe I took my job too seriously! I still keep in touch with some of my former work partners so that aspect still feels good.
4 years is not bad at all, plenty of time to really get to know people, like a 2nd family etc.. In contrast at my current job, it is very much a "stepping stone role", that is the longest tenure we have had is 2 years before X moves onto a different role in the company or another company all together. However it seems that your job was quite different and you really got to know people, take that with you, the memory the experiences.
This week is my last week in the office I've been working in for the past 4 years of my life.
These colleagues/co-workers have become such good friends to me they are like family.
I wasn't initially sad at all, as I was ready to move on, but as the last today approaches I am beginning to feel sad! I didn't think I would, but as I'm driving in this morning I start reminiscing about everything and caught myself saying "I'm going to miss driving in here everyday"...... So weird! It feels kind of surreal.
They're taking me out Thursday night for cocktails and a dinner and then Friday is my last day. I have a feeling Thursday night is going to be a bit emotional. The funny thing is tho, that I never felt like I would miss these people or miss this place as it was a job, albeit a good one, but it also got very frustrating at times and during those times id be all "omg, I cant take this anymore"....and now here I am like "I'm going to miss it here so much",....
I eat lunch with these people everyday. I see them 5 and 6 days a week and certain times of the year would spend 10 to 12 hours a day with them. I've traveled to conferences and events with them. Spent days and weeks at a time with them.
I guess when you're in the thick of it one doesn't think about it, but now that my days with these people are limited.... Each day seems like ....weird.
I'll be moving out of town to start a new job, so I will not be able to visit very often.
Guess that's life.
No, that's co-workers.
There is a difference between friends and co-workers. Friends will stay in touch with you, while the co-workers won't unless they have a professional reason to reach out to you such as a job referral, you likely won't see them again. Consider that while you are getting emotional about leaving, that perhaps none of these people will contact you again. Don't confuse these professional relationships with actual friendships, they aren't the same thing.
Be glad you enjoyed your time there and the people you worked with. That's the best anyone can hope for on a job.
It will be a big change, but that is life. You are living yours, your old co-workers will live theirs. Everyone will move on at some point by quitting, promotion, retiring, etc. YOu will probably make new friends at your new job. One thing you can't do is stay at a job you hate just because you like the people. I had it happen to me years ago where I hated my my job and most of my team except one of my co-workers and figured I wouldn't look at other positions or other companies as I had a great time working with him and job was fairly stable. We joked about looking at other jobs or quitting together but nothing came of it. All of a sudden he found an internal position on a different department, applied for it, interviewed, accepted, and started the position all within three weeks. We still talked after that but it wasn't the same. It all happened quick and I felt upset and resented him a bit for not having the same feelings about the job and working relationship as I had. I got over it and realized you can't stay at a job because you *only* like the people, it can come back to bite you in the ass when the others (who you thought had the same feelings as you) move on with their life and their goals.
I am still friends with co-workers from 27 years ago - they live in different states, too. First we wrote letters, called each other because email wasn't widely used then, but now we email each other frequently. When they are in town, we do our usual fun things as always.
It is to be expected as we're a very transient society now. You should feel fortunate though. Most jobs I have held involved pretty toxic co-workers that had me running for the time clock at the end of each day.
1st job - was there for less than a year, but made friends with most people. Stayed in touch for a while with some, but slowly drifted away. Still very close with one person, though.....the one that eventually became my husband.
2nd job - was there for 9 years and became good friends with many people. It was very sad to leave. I remain good friends with one person and occasionally get together with three others.
3rd job - been here about 8 years; have made many good friends. While I haven't left, many of my friends have. I am still in contact and see all friends that have left here.
Not sure why people don't make friends at work. You are there most of your life. Why not enjoy who you are with?
I know exactly how you feel. I left "Mayberry" after almost ten years on the job last July. I had a work husband, a couple of work kids and many brothers and sisters.
It is a surreal feeling the last time you walk out that door for good. It was also very exciting because I knew I never had to work another day again unless I wanted to.
There are people I miss and I can't explain why I haven't been back to visit. I guess the bottom line is that I just don't want to.
Facebook is a great way to stay connected with your work friends, and I can talk to them whenever I want.
I do miss those big bear hugs from my little brother Leonard and giving my work husband a big hug. He's very sick and I literally saved his life. He was hours from passing when I found him dazed and confused and in a bad CHF exacerbation. He's not on Facebook and I deleted my contacts on my cell phone by accident and lost his number. We would text once in awhile.
A job is just a job and while it's not the same not working with your friends every day, it may be a way to take that friendship to the next level. It's way more fun visiting when you don't have work issues interrupting your time together.
Your next job may be the same with a new set of people to get to know. I have friends from every job that I had that I still see and talk to. Had I not jumped jobs so much I never would have met them. Now there's a sad thought.
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I still keep in touch with some of my former work partners so that aspect still feels good.
