Should co-workers be your friends? Why not?

SHOULD YOU ESTABLISH A FRIENDSHIP AT WORK, SHOULD CO-WORKERS BE YOUR FRIENDS, SHOULD FELLOW CABIN CREW BE YOUR FRIENDS

You may have just received your offer from Emirates, Etihad or Qatar as cabin crew. You now decide to hunt down everyone and anyone joining on the same day as your DOJ, start a social group and keen to share everything. You become a close cohesive group as you approach your DOJ. Some of them may even become close friends by the time you start your initial training at the airline. We all know that having friends at work and moving to a new country with someone in the same situation as yourself will make you happier at work and help you settle quicker in your new home and the new cabin crew role.

It’s worth creating good work relationships. It is also important to remember that work friends come with conditions - and needs to be treated with more discretion than outside-work friends. “Unlike friendships outside the workplace, work friendships uniquely occur on the backdrop of the formal organization, and it is key to prioritize professionalism.” Be aware of your own workplace friendship guidelines so you won’t end up with work frenemies instead of friends.

Be mindful of oversharing. You have to share some personal information to make friends, but you should proceed with more caution than you would for non-work friendships. Remember to always keep it professional and respectful. If a co-worker asks if you have plans for the weekend, for example, you can share some details. There are certain things you should never share with your work friends. You can be friendly with your manager or someone who you manage but be careful about how your friendship affects your professional relationship and how it may be perceived by coworkers. You need to be careful about sharing anything with work friends that you’d like to keep secret from your boss. Even if they assure you they’ll maintain your confidence, they may not be able to keep that promise if a higher-up asks them about whatever it is.

Of course, most work friendships can stay fun, light, and the bright spot of your work day—if you stick to these work-friend guidelines.