As the line between work and life becomes ever more blurry we’re all connecting with our coworkers more personally than ever before. Many company cultures, including Spokeo, have evolved to put more emphasis on the interpersonal relationships between staff members through such means as open concept offices, company-wide happy hours, and teambuilding exercises.
Likewise, many people find themselves forging deeper relationships with colleagues and superiors because office hierarchies are less defined than in previous times. Instant messenger, texting, and commuting carpools are all quickly turning our coworkers into our friends.
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Everyone’s got one: a “Work Wife” or a cube mate they can’t wait to hit up the new lunch spot with or to dish the latest office gossip. But what happens when one of you moves on – to another department or even another company – does the bond forged at work survive? Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to change jobs without losing touch.
Lay the Groundwork Early
One of the best things you can do to preserve your ‘work’ friendships is to navigate them towards the outside world before you leave your position. If there’s someone you really hope to continue a relationship with for years after one or both of you have moved on, ask them to hang out on a weekend or develop a shared interest that doesn’t involve work. Going for a walk together, meeting each other’s loved ones, and generally getting to know one another on a less professionally-bound level will make it easier to maintain a relationship when you don’t have work in common.
Give Each Other Plenty of Ways to Communicate
Maybe you currently rely on inner-office chat to communicate with your work BFF…don’t wait until it’s too late to get more personal contact information. If you feel weird about asking for a personal email or phone number make up an excuse about wanting to send a job posting or an off-color meme their way without setting off HR’s sensors.
Reach Out Soon After Your Exit
It’s always awkward when someone leaves a job. Whether you’re the leaver or the left-behind, no one knows exactly how to bridge the gap now that you don’t see each other 40-hours per week. It’s particularly important to make the first move for after-work connection if you left your job on contentious terms – your old colleague may not know if you even want to talk to anyone at the old firm. Ideally, invite your treasured colleague (or colleagues!) to lunch or dinner about a week or two after your exit. It’s natural to talk about work the first time or two but slowly try to incorporate other topics of conversation into your interaction, too.
…But It’s Never too Late to Reconnect
It’s all too easy to let the weeks, months, and years go by without reaching out to an old colleague, mentor, or boss. We all mean well but life gets in the way and it can be a daunting prospect – Will you have anything to talk about? Are they mad at you for leaving? Or maybe it’s been so long you don’t even know how to get in touch with them anymore. Start with a simple people search on Spokeo to locate your colleague and maybe even find out some contact info, too. Email or a handwritten note are great ways to reestablish communication as they’re unobtrusive, can be answered at the recipient’s leisure, and lend a human touch. Sometimes all it takes is a spark to restart a relationship that was highly important to you in your past!
The average adult now works seven different jobs in their lifetime and few make it 10 or 20 years at the same company anymore. All this job shuffling means it’s easy to lose touch with colleagues you rely on to get through the day but it’s never been easier to track these people down and casually reach out.
Have you recently reconnected with a colleague from your past? We’d love to hear about it! Tell us about it in the comments below.