u/chineapplesmaccket

For real though, people who work their assess off have to struggle more than people who are good at a sport? Seems unfair.

People who avoid friendships at work because “coworkers are not your friends”, often do not understand what relationships actually are.
The growing trend of people deliberately keeping colleagues at arm’s length worries me. We are already dealing with a social isolation crisis, and this mindset is only making it worse.

Here is something worth sitting with: every relationship you have ever formed grew out of some kind of shared structure. School, sport, your neighbourhood, a hobby group. None of those connections were less real because they started in a particular context. Work is no different. You are placed in proximity with people, you share time and experience, and bonds form. That is not some corporate illusion, that is just how human beings connect.

Yes, those structures shift. Jobs end, people move on. But that is true of basically every relationship. Impermanence does not strip something of its value while it exists.

The idea that you need to actively resist forming friendships with colleagues is also just impractical. If you genuinely clash with someone, fine, nobody is forcing you to be their best mate. But making a blanket policy of emotional detachment toward anyone who shares your workplace? That takes real effort, and the cost falls on everyone around you, not just yourself.

You spend a significant chunk of your waking life at work. If you find genuine connection there, that is not something to be suspicious of or managed away. It is something to be grateful for.

Coworkers can absolutely be real friends. Treating that as naive says more about your understanding of friendship than it does about the workplace.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Even if it’s just a party trick!

Curious what the general consensus is.

I feel like this just makes sense and would’ve massively helped prepare me for adulthood