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Whether you work in an office, on a job site, at a store or in a hospital, we all work with people that we like and people that we would rather not be on this planet with. While it is nice to have some work allies or maybe even friends, it’s very important to not get attached to these people. I understand you may have a work spouse or a work mom, but can you imagine what life would be like if they all of a sudden left? It would suck.
As I write this, I just said goodbye to one of my favorite people on my floor. He would drop by my office every day to talk about basketball, life, or talk trash my golf game (which is absolutely awful). He came to me when he needed utensils or just to talk about some cute shit his kids did. I would go to him when I had a good joke or if I needed some advice. Now all of a sudden he’s gone.
The defense industry has an abnormally high turnover, so I’m used to people being gone in the blink of an eye. Whether they’re getting poached by another company or the contract they worked on ended, people don’t stay in one place for long around here. I’ve learned very quickly that you can’t get attached to any of your coworkers because they’ll be gone before you know it.
It’s one thing to be attached to someone in the workplace and then they leave the job, but there are other reasons to not get attached to your coworkers. What if one of you got promoted? What if all of a sudden you were their boss or they were yours? It may seem like you would actually have a great employee/supervisor relationship, but that wouldn’t last very long. Before you know it, one of you is going to have to crack down on the other over something work-related and it’s going to be a very awkward situation.
Distancing yourself from tight-knit work relationships can also benefit you greatly. By not getting too attached, you distance yourself from work drama, unnecessary tasks, and other distractions. It keeps you from being associated with a slacker and also shows your supervisors that you’re actually at work to do your job and not to socialize. I know this doesn’t sound intriguing, but nobody wants to be entry-level their whole life. Sometimes it actually is a good idea to impress your superiors even though it may not be the most fun thing in the world.
The friendlier you are with people the more ground they are going to take. Do you really want Becky adding you on Facebook and commenting on all your posts? Before you know it she’ll be telling everybody at the office about what you did last weekend and showing them all the pictures. The more you get attached to people at work the more your personal life and work life intertwine. If you want to keep the two separate (which any normal person would), it’s important you distance yourself from bonding with people at work.
It’s still cool to be nice to people, but just don’t get too close. Before you know it, they’ll know where you live, they’ll start stalking you, they’ll figure out when you take vacation, they’ll go to your house and break in, they won’t steal a thing, they’ll try on some of your clothes and maybe actually steal some of your underwear, they’ll rearrange all your stuff and hide every single one of your left shoes, they’ll leave you some kind of sketchy note written on your bathroom mirror in lamb’s blood, and you’ll come back to a house that you’ll never want to live in ever again.
Maybe not, but you never know. .
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Its pretty easy not getting close to work colleagues when they have 10 years or more on you, kids, etc. and all you’re looking forward to is getting drunk and brunch over the weekend. Maybe that’s just me though.
That’s my situation too. I’m 20 years younger than the rest of my department. I miss having people I work with that I could relate to in any way.
Nope my entire life. The guy who just joined my team doing my same job…he started working here in 1989…the year I was born.
On behalf of my coworker who got dumped by his office girlfriend in her cube last month, I wholeheartedly endorse this message.
I might, is Becky hot? Does she post a lot of bikini-clad vacation pics?
Or, is it
Took a real sharp turn at the end there…
via GIPHY
All too real of a read for me today when not only is my work bff leaving, but I’m getting all of her work to do on top of mine until a replacement is hired…
I mean you raise a good point but someone on my floor got fired yesterday. We received an email stating that they’re no longer allowed access to the building and if we see them near the office to let someone know immediately.
So don’t get attached but sometimes it’s key to make people aware that you exist.
My work parents got a divorce talk about awkward.
Have a guy in the office who doesn’t understand we are work friends and not friends friends. He’s ruined multiple weekends by “calling to chat” and I’ve been trying to weasel my way out of this perceived friendship for months, its the worst
Holy shit. That made my hands clammy
It’s not fun. There’s a fine line between keeping him at arms length and simply being a dick and I edge closer to being a dick every day.
I just read this yesterday and thought nothing of it. Today, both my work moms and my work dad were all let go. Also, typing this made me realize how weird that dynamic was. Workplace Polygamy. PGPM?