Three Good Friends...

I was reading an article from one of my many business news feeds that said, in effect, "you can't hate your job if you have three good friends working with you." I thought about it quite a bit and even mentioned it some people.

Bogus statistic made up to sell some theory? I don't think so because, somehow, it feels right.

In the past couple of years, two of my three best work friends left my company. I went to lunch with them, worked on projects with them and talked to them nearly every day. While I still see them both socially, their leaving left a void. A big one. (Damn them.)

While other friends have left over the years, I always had enough close friends to fill in the space left behind. But, not anymore. I'm a social butterfly so I know a lot of people but there has to be a combination of proximity and like mindedness to make someone a close friend. I'm just not finding that with my current situation. There are new people I talk to and go to lunch with (or have beers with) every once in a while but not consistently.

My third remaining close friend works in another building. We go to lunch once a week but it's often several days between our interactions. That's not enough to fill the void left by the others even though he's a larger than life kind of guy and I adore him despite his Republican ways.

I shared this theory with two of my former good work buds who've gone off to better things and one of them emailed me a few days later. She said she'd been thinking about it and wanted to know the source data. I couldn't remember the original article but, thanks to the almighty Google, I found the book it came from. It's called Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without.

Coincidentally, that book's been on my Goodreads to-read list for a while.

Does this all affect my disposition towards my job? I've been pondering that since I read the original citation. I have to go with, yes, it does.

While there are many wonderful things about my company and fellow employees, it just doesn't seem the same as it used to be. Sure, it could be because of the drag of the negative economy and all that goes with it that many companies have been affected by. But, I think it truly is because "my" peeps aren't there with me on a daily basis.

What does this all mean? I guess I'd say if you've got good friends at work, treasure them and talk them out of ever quitting if you can. ;-) It also means you should find people to build those same types of relationships with because you never know when someone is going to leave and you need a new support base.

Ultimately, if it's a good place to work, you won't hate it. But, it sure makes it easier to handle the bumpy bits if you have someone to share those bumpy bits with.