Work Friends: An Office Must or Someone You Can't Trust

She shows up in your cube for afternoon chats, provides plenty of sarcastic IMs about your boss and she’s always up for an after work margarita: She’s your work friend. And you spend at least 40 hours a week in her presence.

But is working together and playing together such a great idea? Just like in high school, will one friend get jealous if the other makes the cheerleading squad (or in this case, gets the promotion)? Or are risks like this canceled out by the fact that you have someone to commiserate with? Here are the pros and cons to having work friends.


Why work friends work.
Liz Farrar, 25, says she loves having a confidante for her grueling job at an advertising agency. “You understand their job and how hard it is,” she says. “Most outside friends can't understand what you're going through and vice-versa, so it's hard to be truly empathetic with them about work.”

Kate Lorenz, articles and advice editor at CareerBuilder.com, says, “Having a friend as a co-worker can make your workday more enjoyable, aid your productivity and help you climb the ladder.”

How exactly can a work friend do all that? For one thing, you’ll feel more relaxed and comfortable at your job. “Three-out-of-four workers recently told CareerBuilder.com they suffer from work stress,” says Lorenz. “Having a friend on the job can help ease those pressures.”

And sometimes it’s almost as if you were meant to become friends, whether you met through work or another way. Sigrid Rapp, 29, met one of her best friends when they traveled together for work. “We had the opportunity—because our flight was so incredibly delayed—to talk for hours and get to know each other, and really just found that we had a lot in common,” she says. “So, since then—about three years ago—we talk every day and she is my total confidant!”