The Case for BFAWs (Best Friends at Work)

“The Pandemic is Changing Work Friendships” was the headline I read from The Atlantic while scrolling through LinkedIn last week. While there are more than enough pandemic-related articles to go around telling us how this will change and that will change and this will never be the same, this particular topic gave me pause.

For those of you who know me, I’m a big fan of the highly controversial, ever polarizing Gallup engagement survey question “I have a best friend at work.” And my support has only deepened after learning more about the importance of connection and its relationship to engagement, productivity, happiness, and even health. With so much time spent on the job, how could friendship not play a role in satisfaction and fulfillment at work?

I can’t remember a company I’ve worked where I did not have close friends or confidants – many of whom I still am friends with today. Work friends provide an outlet that those outside of the company can’t afford. They are in the same game, sharing the same environment that those in your “personal life” are not exposed. That provides a deeper level of understanding and empathy. And, for those of you that find this topic too “touchy feely”, many times these relationships and connections just plain help get *stuff* done. The more authentic connections one has in the workplace, the more likely people will go out of their way to help – take that call they might have sent to voicemail, stay a little late to get that thing done you needed, and prioritize you over another request.

So how do we preserve these connections in the face of a pandemic and without the face-to-face contact some of us are used to having? Yes, there are the Zoom happy hours and coffees, which absolutely have their places. But, what if we made it simpler (and shorter)?

·      What if we took a page from Shawn Achor (researcher and author of the Happiness Advantage) and took two minutes each day to send a short “thank you” email to someone we know?

·      What if we made a point of sending an IM, text, WhatsApp, or whatever to a work friend just to say “Hi” and “Just wanted to check-in”?

·      As a leader, what if you started each team meeting like Brené Brown and asked everyone to do a two-word feeling check-in (Inc.com)?

These small acts of connection might just snowball. And, while they may not be the same as a two-hour lunch or a walk around the office park, they just might be the glue that keeps us together. And, instead of being viewed as lost productivity, might just be what we need to stay in the game and perform better.

*A gigantic “thank you” to all of my “best friends at work” who have kept me going over the years. You know who you are and I wouldn’t be who I am today without you

**Originally posted on LinkedIn on July 26, 2020