There’s a fine line between business partners and friendship. I’m learning this the hard way.
In today’s society, so much pressure is put on young professionals to succeed and in turn we put in endless hours to climb our way to the top. Thus, personal relationships outside the office suffer and we tend to bond with those nearest to us: our colleagues and business partners.
However, these relationships are often strained by politics as there needs to be a level of professionalism involved – buried a thin layer underneath if not directly on the surface of the relationship – which can make openness and trust an issue. And I don’t know about you, but when I consider someone a true friend, it’s a sign that I can open up to and trust the other person. After all, we all need people we can confide in on a personal level – we would not be human if not for this social need.
The question is, how do you know when you can consider a colleague a friend? What about a business partner, client, or vendor – is it ever really possible to cross over into friendship without feeling as if you are walking on egg shells to protect your reputation and the underlying business relationship?
I like to think so…
Cheers!
-A
8 comments:
It can be difficult but if someone is going to be a real friend they have to know when to separate work from personal time - and not bring one into the other. Because I don't need that story about me taking my pants off at the bar getting around the office and SHE was the one who bought the tequila.
thanks for the comment. i'm relieved to know that i'm not the only one who has had a similar experience with Dallas. i hope you found somewhere that makes you happy! any advice on a new city for me to check out?
oh this is a tough one. i have had work situations where i hungout with everyone during and after work and that just ended up being bad.
no one needs that much drama at work.
but then again i was young.
i think that if you don't find friends and make relationships through work is hard to meet people
Sticky subject. Sticky subject with filled with lots of gray areas. I work with a ton of people right around my age and it's tough not to become good friends with them.
Interesting question. I was surprised when I left journalism and entered "corporate America" and found that a lot of the 20 somethings didn't hang out. I figured it was a Cleveland thing.
At the newspaper, all our friends were at work, and thank god because otherwise it would have been a lonely place. Newspaper people work crazy hours and often work in places where they don't know anyone, so friendships and relationships sort of happened, and it wasn't such a big deal.
The thing that sucked was you'd get everyone together, and it'd be fun for 15 minutes and then it got depressing because people would bitch and moan all night about work.
But I still think meeting friends at work is fine. Just know when to turn it off or you'll drive yourself crazy.
narm - you at least put on a good show for everyone, right?
cc - wish I could help, but unfortunately I still haven't found my perfect city yet, but I'm getting closer. I'll keep you posted.
alexa - you need the relationships, but the drama is difficult to overcome, especially after hours when everyone wants to gossip about work and the people who aren't there.
allison - you deserve lots of credit for making it work with your friends and the BF. I'm envious of that ability.
jamie - what would I do without you?
I can't stop staring at the girl in the picture.
That's how shallow I am.
i wonder about that all the time. how do i know we're good enough "friends" that i can complain about work or tell you that i'm moving in january and therefore leaving the company? i'm always afraid that even though we're office "friends" that we're still competing for the same jobs and i don't want to be sabotaged because i confided in someone. also gets awkward when there is off campus activities that involve loads of alcohol...
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