On my second day off of this glorious week, I’m content to sip coffee, read and react to the various articles I’m finding on the Internet.
ABC News has this article about how work friendships suffer when one team member is laid off and the rest retain their employment. (The other article that caught my attention is what happens when someone falls off a cruise ship … what can I say? My reading tastes are varied.)
I’ve never been laid off (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc.), but I’ve been on the other side of the fence – the colleague still standing and still gathering a paycheck. And here’s my assessment – I am blessed to have wonderful friends outside of my work environment, and while work friends are something of a necessity, I’m trying very hard these days to keep my work life and my personal life separate. Sure – I’ll make a guest appearance at an after hours happy hour or something, but beyond that … my work life is stressful enough without bringing it into my Friday night free time.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule – two of my best friends in the whole wide world came from my old newspaper job in Wisconsin. One of them even sat next to me for two years and she was my drinking buddy. But that was then. While I still think these people and I would be good friends if I met them today, I’m just better at compartamentalizing my life right now.
And, in the words of Martha Stewart – that’s a good thing.
I think you’re very wise to keep your business and personal lives separate.
I am friendly with my co-workers. Granted, I only have two. However, one lives 50 miles from me and the other is half my age. So neither of those scenarios lend themselves to a strong friendship, IMO. Which is fine with me. And as far as I know, them as well.
I’m wrestling with a similar situation. I’ve been on both sides of the fence … and I found it just as difficult to maintain work friendships when I was the laid off person as when I was the survivor.
People at work are generally NOT your friends when the chips are down. If it is a question of you or them remaining unemployed, they will throw you under the bus almost every time. Loyalty is the first casualty when it comes to a paycheck.