Are friendship and personal success connected?
The man is a social being, always wanting to have someone to speak with, looking for company and sharing the good and bad. So having a fulfilling social relationship, like friendship, can make us more productive and, thus, more successful in the professional area. When you go to work knowing that you will meet there people with whom you will spend a pleasant time, can be more motivating. The opposite is to go to work where nothing appears welcoming, this condition reflecting on your personal performances. So, having a colleague as friends will keep you happy, and productive, as multiple studies show. You have with whom to share opinions and disconnect from work in lunch breaks, making work more comfortable place.
- Feeling connected to our colleagues can help our performances
When entering a collective, we always question ourselves whether we will be able to fit in or not. Feeling misplaced can be a moral killer, diminishing our desire to work and give a better result. When we start to feel a real connection with our colleagues, this worry disappears, allowing us to focus more on what we have to do at work, rather than in finding ways to fit in. Having a desirable connection with our colleagues means we will have all the support we need and help in difficult situation. We have all the resources in order to touch our goals and improve our performances. A lonely person will always be a stressed person, and not because I say so, but because anatomy makes it this way. The levels of stress hormones are higher in the blood stream of a person that lack social interaction. And this is a fact.
- Things in common will help you bond quickly
Working together on a project or sharing the same views and opinions can help you bond better and quickly with your colleagues. So don’t be a stranger to getting implicated in group activities or assignments in which you and some of your colleagues can all contribute and help each other. Doing this was fun during school time, when we used to do homework and projects with our best colleague from class. It is time to apply the same rule as adults as well, to increase productivity.
- Use less professional places to befriend your colleagues
It is obvious that you cannot try to form a friendship during a meeting. You will need to take advantage of time spent in less formal spaces, like the subway parking, office kitchen or cafeteria, on the hallways, or while waiting for a meeting to begin. Each office building is filled with neutral spaces where you can chat and bond with the colleagues you feel to have something in common.
- Are freelancers or people who work alone less productive?
We are talking about how to improve your social relationship at work, with your colleagues. Bu what if you don’t have any colleagues? Will that improve the working performances? The answer is not necessarily. There are ways of staying productive by developing social relationships in other ways. Taking your competitor out for a coffee can be one idea to do that. You don’t have to talk necessarily about work, but at these types of meeting business ideas might emerge since you work both in the same domain. If working alone, you should never refuse the opportunity of knowing someone new or meeting with distance acquaintances. You can use the spare time to join a club, especially one that implies some sports. Working alone can be challenging and socializing together with doing some exercises can do an enormous amount of good. Remember that you need to step out of the working schedule and do something relaxing as well if you want to maintain a good level of productivity.
- More friends are always welcomed
Someone who has more friends will also be happier. So don’t just settle to befriending colleagues and take it out of the office as well. You need to have friends in the real life as well. If they are colleagues or not, it doesn’t matter, as long as they are your friends, and you have a great time in their company. People with numerous friends are more likely to increase their incomes as well. But this doesn’t mean you’ll hunt friends. Try to make real and good friends, because they are going to make your life much better.
- Expressing gratitude can work wonders
If someone does something that does you good or makes you feel great, don’t hesitate to express your gratitude about it. It strengthens your relationship with that person and reinforces self-esteem. By doing so, both parties enjoy the process, the giver, and the taker will feel the happiness of being in a successful relationship. A simple exercise to boost your good mood is to write five things you are thankful for, at least one time every week. The secret ingredient of happy people is that they enjoy what we have, instead of being miserable about what they don’t have. So try using this method as well, and you will feel immediate improvements.
- Be generous
A part of being thankful for what you have is to give something in return for the ones that are less fortunate. Whether you choose to do some charity or merely give a helping hand to someone that is passing through a tough period, can be a fulfilling act. Of course, you can’t make people help you when you need it. But, on the other hand, you can control offering your help to someone.
- Besides friends, make sure you make your life the way you want it
Your goals, your happiness and everything that makes every day better are most important. Don’t let your life be guided by others. Instead, be true to yourself and live the life you want to live. If you are sincere with yourself, you will know what to choose to be happy. Opinions of others about your life should not concern you. People might try to offer opinions and advice you don’t ask for. So just wipe them off and focus on your life, imagined from your perspective. Thus, choose people that will accept you the way you are, without trying to improve you or your life in their way.
