How to be Less Lonely at Work | Christine vs. Work

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0:52Visit your nearest Croc store today. I feel lonely. And it's not just because I'm literally alone. I'm feeling lonely at work, which for me is 100 % virtual right now. Those little spontaneous physical interactions with my colleagues, that's what I miss so much. You know, those little mundane moments that, in hindsight, Actually, I miss a lot, like waiting for someone to finish their time at the coffee machine and being like mildly irritated. That would be the most welcome thing right now. Okay, so maybe I'm not literally alone. I mean, technically, I'm on the internet. There's Andy, my producer in the corner.

1:36Hey, Andy. But now a day looks more like this.

1:43Is there a way to feel less lonely at work? Less lonely at home? Home at working from home. Just, just, help.

2:00Loneliness is at work. It feels like you're disconnected from your coworkers, from your friends, that you haven't maybe made friends, that you feel isolated. That's Jennifer Moss. She's a journalist, speaker, and author of The Burnout Epidemic. Among other things, she studied how loneliness is a major predictor of professional burnout. I mean, sure, we all get a little lonely, right? How bad could it really be? One in five millennials say they have zero friends. Zero friends. None. At all. I just want to call them up and say, hey, you can talk to me. I'll be your friend. Well, work friendships are really unique, but having a really close friend at work is powerful and how much it enhances our feeling of work.

2:47Having a best friend at work actually makes it more likely for you to stay about 50 % more likely for you to stay in a job through times where it isn't as, you know, happy or well, it increases your likelihood of a promotion, you know, it improves sales, it improves all these different metrics that we measure around productivity engagement, but it also makes you more well and you know, just overall life satisfaction. How do I know if someone's a friend? I don't even know. I mean, maybe I could just say they are, but is there a kind of a threshold? A threshold, exactly. The closer your friendships are at work, the more they likely mimic, you know, the good feelings that you have with friends in your personal life.

3:28They don't believe in the gossip, that they always, you know, support you when you need it, that they're there to hear you out, you know, if you have some stress in your life or stuff building up. So I'm going to take the cynical point of view for a second. Like, okay, well, I guess I have no friends at work. It's a job, but I have friends outside of work, you know, so what if I'm lonely at work? And what's the worst that could happen? For people that are feeling just lonely at work, period, they're not connecting with people, it's a big problem. And it could mean, you know, loss of your job, they get paid less, that they don't get promoted.

4:06There's lack of confidence. Loneliness is as impactful on our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It's worse on our health than diabetes. So now I'm just thinking about myself and my relationship. I'm having a moment. I'm having, I'm reflecting. Is there any time in your life that you felt lonely? I had a period of time where I was a founder of a startup, a co-founder, and actually it was my husband and I that were co-founding the startup which is a no-no in that world you know you're never supposed to have a married co-founder um but we were in this place where we were working together both at this sort of level of of you know fighting for money being a young startup just always overextended there was about a year and a half that I felt very this episode is brought to you by google chrome you think you know a browser but gemini and chrome that's new.

5:02It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast, so why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up.

5:42It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest croc store today. Very, very isolated. And it did actually burn out where I left the company. I abandoned every board seat I had. I stopped working on everything. everything I said no to everything for six months to recover. And I realized a big part of that was through all of that I hadn't maintained my close friendships. I hadn't I was so busy and so stressed that I wasn't leaning on them. In order to feel less lonely at work and hopefully not burn out, you need friends. Okay, so this is a little awkward.

6:24But I have to ask the question, how do I how do I make new friends at work? How does anyone make new friends at work? So that's a great question. Find someone in the organization that you've maybe admired something that they've done or you thought is really cool or interested in. Maybe they've written a piece or edited a piece or been on a project that you're like, oh, that's so cool. And maybe you could suggest having a coffee one time to chat about it. You've never done this before, like sending a coffee invite to someone that you want to be friends with, this is how Jen suggests how to do it.

6:56Start with gratitude. People love that and just be really sincere in it. You could say something like, thanks so much for your great insights at this morning's meeting or, oh, what a great question you raised. I'd love to hear more where, you know, your thoughts came from. After that, just ask for a few minutes of chat. Most people are really friendly, especially if you flower them a little bit, so just start there. Okay, so my mission is to make friends at the office. I'm going to try to show you as much as I can, but these are real people and I'm trying to foster real friendships, so you may not see everything, but deal with it.

7:30I think I've identified a promising candidate. I'm going to reach out on Slack and see what happens. Give me luck.

7:52Friendship Commence. I was just thinking that your daughter is going to be so shocked that you're going to have a starring role. I'm going to make sure she knows this. She checks it out. So the person that you're seeing there is Josh, and he is my new friend. I know. I know what you're thinking. Like, is this stage? Is this fake? Christine knows everyone. No, I really like legit had to reach out and be like, you may not know me, but let's hang out maybe or have a conversation. So there you go. Like it actually happened. And I learned a lot about him and his work. And also like apparently fun fact, his daughter recognizes me and watches my TikTok videos.

8:38So who knew? Good work friendships Aren't built in a day, but it only takes a moment to start one. I mean, look, I had never really talked to Josh before, but look at us. Now we're hanging out together. I'm already feeling less lonely and it's only day one. After all, friends will always have your back. And that's critical when work gets real. But worst case scenario, I'll be your friend. Bye. If you're still watching, one, thank you. but two I'm really curious like what do you want me to explore like what problems do you have at work I'd love to solve them please leave a comment I'd love to hear your thoughts and if you have any other ideas throw them my way alright peace out have you heard that McDonald's spicy chicken McNuggets made with spicy tempura and a blend of aged cayenne are back remember to grab a few extra napkins for a limited time at participating McDonald's.

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