Where did all my work friends go?

First appeared in March 2022 at https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=c872e6968d8a1e66c618afaa6&id=f43f81136e

Throughout my 20s, many of my best friends were my “work friends.” These work friends were often people I might not have otherwise met or hung out with, but because we were crammed into the same cubicle farm, we developed shared expressions, experiences, inside jokes, and eventually genuine respect and friendship. One of the main reasons I would stay in jobs in the first decade of my career was the luxury of employer-sponsored hang-out time everyday with people I actually enjoyed. And if a new job offer came, I’d worry: “What if people at my next job aren’t as fun?”…

Let’s be honest: this future of work is shaping up to be pretty unfriendly to work friends. Without the daily office interactions, people don’t form the same friendships, meaning there’s dramatically less social glue keeping people in the same job. With less connection and belonging, quitting starts to “cost” a lot less . I suspect this is a big and underappreciated dynamic driving the Great Resignation wave.

And early data supports this: Microsoft released a report this month citing that employees with strong relationships beyond their immediate team are more satisfied with their employer (76% versus 57%), more fulfilled by work (79% versus 59%), and have a more positive outlook on workplace stress (40% versus 30%) than those with weak org-wide networks.

As we all ask the question “To office or not to office,” a lot of the focus has been on considerations of efficiency and flexibility. But more attention needs to be paid to remote work’s impact on personal growth, learning, and, yes, social connection and fun.

At Shortlist we’re increasingly adopting the notion of a “flipped office” (to adapt the education concept of a “flipped classroom” where students watch lectures at home but do homework at schools for coaching and peer collaboration). Instead of treating the office as the primary spot to get stuff done, that now happens at home (or wherever), and people are instead expected to come into the office a couple days a week to focus on collaborating and connecting face to face.

We’re also considering how to drive social connection beyond office policy. We’ve implemented a reimbursement policy for groups of Shortlisters to hang outside of office hours, which could be food, drinks, a hike, whatever. We’re introducing an “exchange program” to get a steady stream of Shortlisters from India to come to Kenya (and eventually vice versa) and interact IRL. We’re starting a book club and encouraging more regular happy hours. And we’re looking for more ideas, believing that teams that play together stay together.

What else are you all doing to increase social connection, belonging, and fun in this new world of work? Reply and send us your ideas, and if we implement any of them, we’ll send you a gift from Shortlist :)