By Neisha Buckley-Ford

Having meaningful relationships at work is important.  Afterall most of your waking hours are spent at work. It creates emotional stability, builds trust, and reduces stress. The workplace must be somewhere you can be comfortable to share, laugh and communicate without feeling any tension.  The line between your personal friendship and professional friendships can sometimes get blurry though.  Sometimes you find persons who you can share with and who you get close to but be careful. Bridging the gap between professionalism and friendship at work is imperative. This is achievable but not without effort. Here are a few tips to follow so that your friendships do not interfere with your work environment.

1. Stay on target

Remember what your main goal at work is.  Sometimes when at work you want to discuss something personal with your friend and you spend minutes at the beginning of the workday or during the day discussing this.  Be careful not to confuse your purpose at work.  Having friends are great but losing focus can cost you your job and reduce productivity. Being more loyal to your friends during work hours than the task you are paid for will make you miss the target.  Set your goals and stay on target – Bridging the gap between Professionalism and Friendship at Work.

2. Set Boundaries

You may recognize you have forged a friendship at work but be careful to separate your personal affairs and your work affairs.  Try not to let it overshadow what your tasks at work should be.  Having a good relationship with someone should not prevent you from holding persons accountable for the work they should do. Friendships should not affect performance. Be sure to let them know that while at work the focus should be on achieving the goal of being productive at work. This will only help in Bridging the gap between Professionalism and Friendship at Work. Draw the line between familiarity and professionalism.

3. Stay away from trash talks and gossiping

Stay away from trash talking your boss and colleagues.  This will be tempting especially if something is done that you are not in favour with.  Being mindful of what you say and to whom you say it to is very important.  When the words get around it may create tension, affect work goals and communication.  Express how you feel but “the how” is undeniably crucial. Feel free to complain but do not cross the line and trash talk the persons with whom you work. Keeping conversations civil is a great way of bridging the gap between professionalism and your friendships.

4. Do not take things personal

Your friend may be your supervisor or a colleague you work closely with.  Remember that it is necessary to have persons to guide, correct and criticize constructively the work you do.  This should not be considered a personal attack nor a conflict as friends.  Remember why you are at work, ask questions for clarity and state your disagreements professionally.  You will not always like or agree with what is said.  Remember your goals at work and focus on that. Your response and non-verbal reaction to what is said can make a big difference.

Remember, bridging this gap between your professional role and your friendships at work is achievable.  It just takes a little effort.