Are you the new kid on the block at work again? As a military spouse you may be used to jumping right into the community every time you PCS. And, you are probably a pro at making friends pretty quickly. So, that makes the transition into new your community a breeze. Right?
Well, as you prepare to start yet another new job, don't be afraid to use to your advantage in the professional world that same ability to make friends quickly and make the transition into the new job a breeze also.
Having friends at work can make the days go by much faster and make them a lot more enjoyable. Having the "right" friends at work can also give you support, encouragement, help and influence.
Courtney Anderson, attorney, author and business strategist suggests you don't let figuring it out get the best of you.
"Knowing that you will be there for a defined period of time instead of your whole career can really take the pressure off," she said. "You know you will make some friends, so have fun with it.
The difficulty comes in with figuring out who the "right" friends are.
Having friends at work could also have costly impacts. Too much socializing can hinder productivity, foster cliques and favoritism and unfortunately, the wrong ones can get you fired.
Take heed to these precautions before jumping into friendships at work.
A high quality professional connection does not require a deeply personal one.
"Close friendships are all about opening up and self-disclosures so you need to be especially careful when starting a new job about making intimate friendships," said Dr. Jan Yager, a sociologist and workplace relationship consultant. "The stakes are very high at a job if you share too many of your professional or personal details and it turns out that you spilled your guts to the wrong person."
Don't let social media limit you.
"Don't give away too much about yourself online and peg yourself into the same hole. Each new job can be a fresh start and a chance to reinvent yourself," said Anderson. "Let them know who you are today not who you were in the past."
Test the waters before diving in to deep.
"If you take your time getting to know someone at work really well, testing out the new relationship over months or even years and in a variety of work or outside-of-work situations, then gradually making a new friend at work can be a good idea, said Dr. Yager, author of numerous workplace relationship books that can be found at http://www.drjanyager.com.
Don't force friendships or worry too much about them.
"Think more about your professional goals and who you are than about friendships," said Anderson. "Your number one goal should be to be comfortable with yourself and then you'll do what's comfortable for your personality," she added. "People gravitate to those who appear to be comfortable in their skin."
Know there is a difference between friendly coworkers and "real" friends at work.
Friendly co-workers are people with whom you connect more than others because you spend much of your day working with them. "Real" friends will be there for you in tough times at work, but in especially tough times outside of work.
