7 Reasons why having close friends at the workplace is not a good idea

Making close friends at the workplace is not safe, especially when you are new to your career. When we start work life, we are mature and no more teenagers that used to make friends at school and colleges. Life has changed now, and you might not know what others think about you and how others can feel jealous of you. Well-known psychologists advise not to make colleagues your best buds, don’t share your secrets or weak points with them. But, it doesn’t mean behaving rudely and strangely. It would help if you treated them in friendly manners, i.e., polite, respectful, and professional.

Moreover, if you already have close friends at your workplace, try to be reserved with them and keep them separate from your work life. However, let’s move forward to know the seven reasons why having close friends at the workplace is not a good idea?

1.      You Can’t Fire Your Close friends.

Suppose you are at a senior level while your close friend is your junior, and you both have the same project to complete, and you are supervising it. Your colleague is taking the work on a lighter note in this situation. After all, he thinks that you will ignore his mistakes because he is your best bud. On the flip side, you need to complete the project urgently, and you can hire more passionate persons who can benefit you ten times better than your best friend. But the problem is that you need to fire your buddy. How will you fire him? Now, here it will affect your friendship in the worst manner. That is why we don’t encourage having close friends at the workplace.

2.      How will you say “No” to your best buddy?

What if your friend asks you to do a favor at the office, and that favor can cause harm to your job? How will you say no to him? Friendship requires a spirit to do anything for your friend, but it can be not very easy if you involve your career with your friendship. At this stage of life, you become too close to decide whether you should keep the friendship or compromise on your job. No one wants to destroy their career and doesn’t prefer to lose a devoted friend. Hence, it becomes too hectic and stressful to have best buds working with you in the same organization.

3.      Could you be able to keep equality among your friend and other Employees?

Friendship is a name for sharing secrets, enjoying happy times together s, and crying on your sorrows. It’s the beginning of your Peer support network, from where you start socializing with different types of people, and gradually they become your bundle of joy (best friends). You cannot oppose them, and you cannot be harsh on them. Let’s suppose you are a boss, and your very close friend is your employee. Could you be able to keep him on an equality with other employees? Will not you do favoritism because he is the one who is always there for you? All of it is worth it, but it’s also discrimination and disfavor with your other employees. What if any other employee is working more efficiently than your friend? How will you manage to appreciate him instead of your best friend? These things matter a lot and end up giving you severe depression.

4.      Their habit of long discussions can disrupt the working environment.

What if you both share the same cabin at your office and have plenty of work to complete in a single day. Meanwhile, your companion is full of the stories to discuss with you, and he can’t wait to complete the work. That’s why he started a discussion. You have to listen to him, and you cannot complete your work because of continuous distraction and disturbance. Discussing the problems bothering you is an excellent approach to keeping yourself relaxed, but it doesn’t mean you spoil your time and can’t meet the deadlines.

5.      Professionalism Matters

You are doing the job not only to earn money but also to build your professional network. It would not sound good if you started sharing your problems with your colleague that are your friends. It will violate the workplace rules and affect your reputation in the eyes of other colleagues. Your colleagues or employees will now think about you from different perspectives. They will interest your personal life, problems, and what you are doing after the work. They might use it negatively or make fun of you someplace. Being professional and reserved is far better than having best friends in the form of colleagues.

6.      Barriers in Decision Making

Your boss might ask you to make an ethical decision that can go against your friend/colleague. He is consistently forcing and emotionally blackmailing you into making a wrong decision. Here, you will face distortions and negative concerns while making a decision. But remember your duty. You should fulfill your work requirements to legitimate your earnings, so you cannot cheat. However, taking ideas from your colleagues can increase the chances of making a practical decision, but you will make the final decision in the end. Communicate with your colleagues as per the needs of work. Over-communication may harm professionalism and can cause several problems.

7.      Remember the difference between being a Friend and being Friendly.

Relationships between coworkers are like a cohort where people gather for the achievement of the same object. They may have different perspectives, but all outcomes are somehow the same. These types of relationships require setting boundaries to keep them healthy and respectful. Here, the difference between being a friend and being friendly occurs. You should be friendly with your coworkers, which means you should be kind, professional, and helpful towards them, but you should not share a strong friendship bond. For instance, having lunch at nearby restaurants with your colleague is good, but inviting them to your house to attend your family gatherings will not be a good idea.

There are many benefits you can have if you choose to be friendly with your colleagues.

Developing Trust

When you act in a friendly manner with others, their brain automatically begins to generate positive vibes about you that can lead to developing trust. Individual favorable behavior will make the worker-friendly environment full of trust and credibility. Remember that your good manners will persuade the people to trust you. Be respectful, supportive, and always work hard to benefit others if you want to be the most trustworthy person.

Increase in Productivity

A hectic work routine may spoil your mood, and you may fail to complete your daily tasks. Although, working in an environment where everyone is behaving courteously with each other can make you energize and can boost your stamina to meet your deadlines. You cannot do work if you behave like a toxic. It will become more complicated, and you will feel zero excitement to complete your work. While socializing with your coworkers will motivate you and keep you fresh from performing your daily tasks efficiently.

Relax Environment

Mental stability matters a lot when you need to be productive. It requires staying relaxed, which is impossible while working in aggressive moods or with toxic persons. When you try to be good with others, and your consistent affable nature persuades them to accept the change, the environment becomes relaxed. Now, the workload is more a load but an enjoyable task. That is what friendly behavior can do for you and your organization’s productivity.

Support

You can never overcome team challenges unless you can’t form a friendly relationship with your coworkers. Teamwork needs coordination for that you cannot isolate yourself instead of making your support network. Assume you are new to the job, and it’s hardly been six months for you. Your boss runs hard on you and handover a difficult task to complete in an hour. What will you do at first? You will ask your senior colleagues. But they will only have if you ever talked to them in friendly manners. It is what it is.

Communication

The communication gap between coworkers or team members may question the credibility and sustainability of the organization. However, communication is not only confined to colleagues; you should also possess excellent communicational skills to interact with the clients and higher authorities. Moreover, high communicational skills can enhance your networking, sustainability, and portfolio. The more you will be able to convey your message. The trimmer will be the chances of having misunderstandings.

Final Word

Having close friends at the workplace can also benefit you but in only rare cases. Whereas, avoiding having best buds from your colleagues can save you from many problems. It all depends on you how efficiently you tackle your problems and how you can keep a balance between work life and friendship. Remember not to cross your boundaries and not to be too rude.