{"id":7564,"date":"2020-12-18T12:41:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T20:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/?p=7564"},"modified":"2021-08-24T00:30:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T07:30:54","slug":"remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Remote Working Tips: How To Become Friends With Your Co-workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve started a new job in Vancouver in 2020, you may find yourself struggling to connect with co-workers. The COVID-19 pandemic that has so many Canadians working from home has clearly changed work life. Beyond re-structuring the job market and limiting our new job search, the pandemic has us more isolated from colleagues than ever.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_50 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-69ed0307ce959\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69ed0307ce959\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#Making_friends_at_work_is_important\" title=\"Making friends at work is important!\">Making friends at work is important!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#But_we%E2%80%99re_losing_the_face-to-face_part_of_our_jobs%E2%80%A6\" title=\"But we&#8217;re losing the face-to-face part of our jobs&#8230;\">But we&#8217;re losing the face-to-face part of our jobs&#8230;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#How_do_we_come_up_with_new_ways_of_befriending_co-workers\" title=\"How do we come up with new ways of befriending co-workers?\">How do we come up with new ways of befriending co-workers?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#1_Set_up_virtual_coffee_breaks\" title=\"1. Set up virtual coffee breaks\">1. Set up virtual coffee breaks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#2_Join_an_Employee_Resource_Group_ERG\" title=\"2. Join an Employee Resource Group (ERG)\">2. Join an Employee Resource Group (ERG)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/remote-working-tips-how-to-become-friends-with-your-co-workers\/#3_Participate_in_after-hours_activities\" title=\"3. Participate in after-hours activities\">3. Participate in after-hours activities<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>These unprecedented circumstances are a challenge, but it\u2019s important to understand our social needs how to fulfil them through work. Doing so will relieve stress and improve your performance at that new job in Vancouver. For any incoming newbies at your company, it will avoid turnover and ensure they don\u2019t go back to the job search.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Making_friends_at_work_is_important\"><\/span><strong>Making friends at work is important!<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At jobs in Vancouver and around the world, we\u2019ve enjoyed chats with co-workers in the hall or caught up over coffee with our colleagues. This might appear incidental to our work, rather than something essential in the job market, but there are tangible benefits to these connections.<\/p>\n<p>Research shows that employees with friendships at work see greater levels of productivity, job satisfaction, and job retention. Factors like moral and material support, personal and professional advice, and thee exchange of information contributed to these benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Employees with workplace friendships were also seven times more likely to feel \u201cengaged in their work\u201d than those without. In addition, 30% of surveyed employees reported having a \u201cbest friend\u201d at work, showing that these workplace connections can be truly impactful.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But_we%E2%80%99re_losing_the_face-to-face_part_of_our_jobs%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><strong>But we&#8217;re losing the face-to-face part of our jobs&#8230;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The job market\u2019s shift towards remote work this year was swift and widespread. The number of daily Zoom meetings growing from 10 million in December 2019 to over 300 million four months later. Statistics Canada also reported that 40% of Canadian workers are now doing their work from home.<\/p>\n<p>As such, many of us are still adapting to the new challenges of being isolated throughout our working hours. In particular, those on a job search or starting new employment may face particular challenges.<\/p>\n<p>One study of UK workers revealed that 55% had little to no experience with remote work prior to the pandemic. The same study reported an 11.8% decline in participants sense of community at work.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_we_come_up_with_new_ways_of_befriending_co-workers\"><\/span><strong>How do we come up with new ways of befriending co-workers?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Given the importance of workplace connections, how can we continue to form positive relationships with coworkers while working from home? Here are a few tips for how to maintain social relationship with colleagues or become friends with co-workers.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Set_up_virtual_coffee_breaks\"><\/span><strong>1. Set up virtual coffee breaks<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Zoom and other online meeting platforms can be useful for more than just meetings. General Assembly, an education company in New York City have set up a video chat for employees to hang out on breaks. Employees say it helps recreate the atmosphere of a breakroom or kitchen, where you can chat with friends and colleagues in a casual environment.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Join_an_Employee_Resource_Group_ERG\"><\/span><strong>2. Join an Employee Resource Group (ERG)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>ERGs are groups within a company that create space for people who share aspects like gender, race, or age. They can also facilitate conversations around mental health. This allows underrepresented employees to find and reach out to one another and develop a sense of community.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Participate_in_after-hours_activities\"><\/span><strong>3. Participate in after-hours activities<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Although after-work drinks may not be an option for the time being, you can still set up virtual hangouts. Apps like Houseparty can provide games, quizzes, and a great way to connect and get to know your co-workers. Try a trivia night, happy hour, or other challenge of your creation.<\/p>\n<p>The new reality of work from home may be challenging in many ways. But if we focus on creating a virtual community, we can still enjoy the many benefits of social connections at work and be happier and healthier employees.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recent Posts:<\/strong> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/6-steps-to-build-an-effective-team\/\">6 Steps To Build An Effective Team<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/how-to-stay-happy-working-from-home\/\">How To Stay Happy Working From Home<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/5-benefits-of-hiring-remote-workers\/\">5 Benefits of Hiring Remote Workers<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/how-the-market-for-remote-work-is-growing\/\">How the Market for Remote Work is Growing<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve started a new job in Vancouver in 2020, you may find yourself struggling to connect with co-workers. The COVID-19 pandemic that has so many Canadians working from home has clearly changed work life. Beyond re-structuring the job market and limiting our new job search, the pandemic has us more isolated from colleagues than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":7836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[643,645,649,646,648,644,647],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7564"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9652,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7564\/revisions\/9652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcjobs.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}