How have you kept your work friendships strong?

[#1]

We know that loneliness is associated with impaired performance, creativity, and decision-making, so keeping work friendships strong is important.

What are your tips for maintaining work friends in a hybrid/remote work environment?

[Monica Morris]

Purposely scheduling the occasional 30-minute meeting with an agenda of "totally casual hangout time" has helped me. I make sure to check with people before putting in on their calendar to make sure they're not totally swamped. 

[Christine P_ Dela Rosa]

Making sure that "all business talk" isn't my default. A simple "how are things going today" question goes a long way to demonstrating you see work friends as humans.

Also, pinging them with a link or sharing a moment when you're thinking about them is always a nice feeling. It's the unprompted messages that move coworkers from coworkers to coworkers + friends.

[Kristen Roth]

Such a great idea, @Monica Morris. We're all missing those impromptu kitchen and desk drive by chats that happen naturally in the office – this is a nice substitute! 

[Kristen Roth]

Yes! Those random "Hey! I saw this and thought of you!" type messages are the best, @Christine P_ Dela Rosa.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Not sure it's a tip, rather than a statement of the obvious, but talk to them more.  You've lost those random walk-by chats and "fancy a break/coffee/lunch" times, so make similar time to get on a call with them.  

Random-ish IM chats when you've got a problem or question, or even just feel like you've not spoken for a while - let them balloon into a video chat as well as just the initial contact.

Maybe something that is a tip - keep an eye out for good reasons to initiate quick chats.  "Hey, after this meeting, you got a few secs?".  Some people don't work too well with random interruptions, others find pre-arranged 1:1 socials a bit forced and run out of stuff to talk about, but they're likely to be the type of person that "end meeting, talk to friend" works well for.

[Kristen Roth]

Love that "end meeting, talk to friend" idea, @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- !

[John Funk]

For me, it's about seeing people face-to-face. When you are both in the office together, spend time together - either over lunch or take a walk, etc. If out of the office, then use video to share things about your life that is going on - not just face time, which is important, but show some things around your home, like space or meals/food/pets, etc. Visuals are so important!

[Kristen Roth]

Yes, @John Funk ! It's those little things we share outside of our work lives  – meals, things around our homes, pets – that can really keep us feeling connected. 

[Kai Becker]

We did remote team events, playing online games like https://garticphone.com/ and hanging around in a video call.