Building good relationships with coworkers is crucial for job satisfaction if you are a remote worker who works from home. Strategies include
connecting over work and offering help.
If you work from home and most of your interactions take place over video calls, building good relationships with coworkers is still relevant. Studies show that having a best friend at work continues to be a key driver of employee engagement and job satisfaction. However, according to a Gallup poll, only 37% of employees felt they had a best friend at work in 2022, compared with 42% in 2019. This lack of empathy towards colleagues can lead to a lack of friends and an absence of empathy towards one another.
To make friends working from home when you rarely spend time together in the office, consider creating friendly relationships with a variety of colleagues, as many people would be thrilled to have someone offer help. The key to a strong friendship is having a compelling reason to spend time together, such as offering to share resources, attending network events, or taking a class together.
Being upfront about how much time you’re asking for and what you’re interested in talking about can minimize the uncertainty of approaching a coworker. Telling your colleague whether you’re interested in having a 15-minute phone call or a five-minute video call makes it easier for them to say yes, offering them the gift of attention and camaraderie. Working from home can be very lonely, so it’s important to think about what the workplace of 2024 and 2025 looks like and how it has changed what we actually need from each other.
There are five strategies for building relationships with coworkers virtually in today’s current office environment—more focused on remote work and hybrid schedules than in-office work. The first is to offer to help, believe you have something of value to give, be more intentional during video meetings, connect over work, and engage in small talk.
When going into the office, walk around to see who is there and take 30 seconds to chat with someone. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, just having a conversation, as small talk establishes a relationship between two people and makes our interactions feel less transactional.
Keswin suggests meeting colleagues who live nearby, going out for lunch or coffee near your homes rather than waiting until you’re both in the office. If you have the opportunity to work on a collaborative project with coworkers, be fully present when you’re together. Don’t multitask or spend time on your phone. Trust is the foundation of relationships, and if you say, “You know what? I want to make connections with people,” trust is the foundation.
Conclusion
In today’s remote work environment, building good relationships with coworkers is crucial for employee engagement and job satisfaction. However, only 37% of employees felt they had a best friend in 2022, compared to 42% in 2019. To make friends working from home, create friendly relationships with a variety of colleagues and have a compelling reason to spend time together. Be upfront about the time and interests, and be aware of the workplace of 2024 and 2025. Five strategies for building relationships in virtual office environments include offering to help, believing you have something of value to give, being more intentional during video meetings, connecting over work, and engaging in small talk. Trust is the foundation of relationships, and meeting nearby colleagues, going out for lunch or coffee, and being fully present during collaborative projects can help build strong relationships.
