Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:14 PM
 
Location: The Palmetto State
635 posts, read 748,724 times
Reputation: 342

Advertisements

I work for a rather large company and have noticed there are two types of people. Those who want to build friendships both in the office AND out of the office and those who just maintain a healthy friendship inside the office and are concerned with getting their work done. I'm mostly seeing those that have friendships outside of the office are the younger crowd who are not married/dating. But here's my dilemma.

Is it best to keep personal and work life separate from each other? I always thought that was the best thing to do. But I also don't want to act distant from my coworkers. Now, don't take me wrong. If I get invited to a happy hour or company event, I go, but I just wanted to see what others thought about this.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:18 PM
 
35,095 posts, read 50,976,071 times
Reputation: 62660
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCUGal View Post
I work for a rather large company and have noticed there are two types of people. Those who want to build friendships both in the office AND out of the office and those who just maintain a healthy friendship inside the office and are concerned with getting their work done. I'm mostly seeing those that have friendships outside of the office are the younger crowd who are not married/dating. But here's my dilemma.

Is it best to keep personal and work life separate from each other? I always thought that was the best thing to do. But I also don't want to act distant from my coworkers. Now, don't take me wrong. If I get invited to a happy hour or company event, I go, but I just wanted to see what others thought about this.
I always keep business and personal separate and would never go to happy hour but would attend a company event depending on what it is.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:24 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,821 posts, read 30,892,534 times
Reputation: 47111
I am friendly but don't consider them close personal friends.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:26 PM
Status: "Springtime!" (set 5 days ago)
 
Location: Jollyville, TX
5,847 posts, read 11,842,077 times
Reputation: 10847
I've made some great friends through work. I even married one. I don't think there are any hard fast rules - whatever you are comfortable with. I seriously didn't want to date a coworker, but I relented and I'm happy to say it worked out. I also have friends today that I met while working and even though we no longer work together, we still maintain our friendships.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:28 PM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,724,941 times
Reputation: 40634
I make work friends, but honestly, I don't consider them real friends until one of us leaves the job and we're still friends. Until then, they're "work friends".
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:40 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,226 posts, read 36,703,964 times
Reputation: 28555
I have work friends and friends that originated from work. It all depends, there is no one right answer for it.

But you do need to be some level of "friendly" to be successful at work, even if it doesn't translate into real friendships.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:50 PM
 
Location: The Palmetto State
635 posts, read 748,724 times
Reputation: 342
Oh I'm definitely friendly with those I work with, but there seem to be "cliques." Like I said, some coworkers hang out all the time after work and on weekends and there's other girls that don't do that, but they tend to be married. I'm just not used to a workplace where people are that open to hanging out after work (I'm fairly new).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 01:55 PM
 
29,422 posts, read 22,328,222 times
Reputation: 48078
Always good to keep them separate. What happens if you have a falling out? Now you're stuck with them at work and creates a poisonous atmosphere.

I mean, if it happens, it happens, no need to not be friends outside for the sake of principles.

But in general, no, I'm happy to be on my own than keep the company of people I work with. Besides, I have zero common interests with most people I work with. They all have significant others/spouses and whatnot.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 02:03 PM
 
3,276 posts, read 7,819,710 times
Reputation: 8308
No, that is never a good idea as everyone is out for themselves at work and your "friends" will have no problem knifing you in the back.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-26-2015, 02:28 PM
 
2,334 posts, read 2,632,085 times
Reputation: 3931
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCUGal View Post
Is it best to keep personal and work life separate from each other?
YES!! Just know your boundaries, and keep them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top