Work is grueling enough. If you're grinding through eight or more hours a day with nothing but you and your monitor, you're bound to feel even less motivated to do your job. It's why, if you have the chance to (i.e., you're not working remotely), you should befriend the people you see every day. After all, having one particular coworker you trust means you'll have someone to vent to after a rough meeting, and they'll make even the most mundane days feel a little more bearable.
Yet, with that said, not every close workplace friendship is as straightforward as it seems. While a work best friend can turn a stressful job into an enjoyable one, that same closeness can open the door to complications you didn't see coming. So, before you get too attached to your office confidant, let's look at both sides of the equation.
The Good
As we've mentioned, having someone in your corner at work can make an enormous difference in how you experience your job day to day. For one, you'll probably be more likely to stay engaged, since you'll have a supportive person cheering you on from the sidelines instead of being accompanied by only the four corners of your cubicle. When you know someone has your back, you'll be more motivated to step up.
A work best friend also gives you an outlet that a manager or HR representative simply can't replace. Faced a frustrating client? Feel overwhelmed due to a personal matter? Unsure whether you're even right for the role or have specific complaints? Having a close acquaintance at work will definitely make things much smoother-sailing—after all, you'll have someone to hear you out! It's these close relationships at work that have the greatest positive impact on mental health compared to other professional relationships, precisely because they make you feel emotionally supported at the office.
Beyond the emotional benefits, these friendships also tend to make you better at your actual job. When you trust the person next to you, you're more willing to share half-formed ideas, ask for honest feedback, and take creative risks you might otherwise avoid. A work best friend, in other words, can turn you into the best version of yourself.
The Bad
Alas, for all its upsides, a close workplace friendship isn't without real risk. Not everyone who seems warm and easygoing has good intentions, and unfortunately, that means some coworkers may cultivate "close" relationships just to gather intel they can use against you later.
Remember how we said having a work best friend means you can rant freely to them? As much as that's true, a "friend" who's not really your friend at all can relay your venting to someone else, such as your manager, client, or boss. Gossip can be fun, but when it lands in the wrong hands (or is heard by the wrong ears), things can quickly spiral. Once trust is misplaced, it's nearly impossible to undo the damage, and you may not even realize it happened until the fallout reaches you. Always be wary—and be careful who you choose to befriend.
So, Should You Befriend Your Coworkers?
So, weighing the good against the bad, should you befriend your coworkers at all? On one hand, these relationships seem invaluable; on the other hand, they can backfire. It seems impossible to choose. How can you ever be sure that the friendly colleagues you're chatting with aren't just nice for show?
There are a couple of additional factors worth keeping in mind as you navigate this. Conflicts of interest can arise even in friendships built on good intentions; if your close friend is also your manager or someone you're regularly evaluated alongside, tension can result when one friend gets a promotion or a sought-after assignment and the other doesn't, and disagreements between friendly coworkers can spill over and affect the wider team. If this is what you think might cause some rifts between you and your close colleagues, it's best to set early boundaries, such as agreeing not to discuss performance reviews or keeping certain personal matters separate from office conversations. This way, there's less of a chance that bad feelings or jealousy will develop.
Ultimately, we say the risk is worth taking. It's better to have people to chat with in the office than no one at all, and you can always make sure to keep more personal or intimate work-related matters to yourself. Being suspicious of everyone, however, will only make you more miserable. A work best friend can be one of the best parts of your job—the key is enjoying the connection without losing sight of the fact that, at the end of the day, you're still colleagues first.
