by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: March 26, 2010

Work, even when you truly enjoy your job, can have its days. You know the ones, you either dread going in even before you get in the car to leave or you get there to find that the day is going to be less than pleasant for one reason or another. It can be very helpful, especially on these days, to be friends with one or more of your co-workers. These people sometimes make the very best of friends.

Co-workers share something in common from the start of their introduction to one another. This gives the two people good ground to begin a friendship. There is something for them to talk about, as they are getting to know one another on a more personal level. There need not be those awkward silences because there is always work talk to fill them with.

The greatest friendships are the ones that are so close that they involve more than just one or two things. The two people can relate in many ways and as they do, their relationship becomes stronger. Co-workers can make the best friends because the two of you are sharing multiple layers of your lives. You may start out the relationship with a basis that is focused primarily on work issues, but as you develop trust between you, you will open up other parts of your life, including your life away from the workplace. Layers will build in your friendship and it will have a good foundation.

When you have friends at work, you have people on your team that can work with you to help to bring about changes that need to be made within the company that you are employed with. They may not always see things your way, but many times they will. You have people that can help you out on projects and assignments. Sometimes, there are emergency deadlines that must be met and a friend will usually step up to the plate to help you out in a pinch. You can also help those that are your friends in the workplace. This will profit the company and keep you both in good standing. Of course, there is also the fact that you will have someone to spend break times with and actually enjoy them.

Co-workers really can make the best of friends. Even if one of you leaves the company that you are with when the friendship begins, you will most likely remain friends. One of my very closest friends is someone that I worked with and she is amazing. It was this woman who, when I had cancer, arranged for all of the co-workers to bring my family and I daily meals and help. We no longer work together, but still, we are friends. I never would have met this wonderful woman, though, had we not worked together.

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