FRIENDS AT WORK

This subject is a tricky one for most people. Many are there that do not know where to draw the line between friendship and work. In fact, some people believe you can only have either but not successfully combine both. I however come with the proposal that you can play both but the parties concerned must be matured individuals who totally understand each other’s personalities and the psychology of the work place.

The average worker spends the larger part of the day at work so it is only logical that you have close friends at work (logic one). Some other people however feel that you only meet the people at work because of the job; so you keep your friends outside of work and colleagues as ‘part of the job’ (logic two). While I find both points of view very thoughtful, I will try to find a mid-point.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY - PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sitting in a board room, conducting interviews with much more senior management staff of a client to my firm, I began to think of how far I have come in my few years in the corporate world. I began to think wide to really see how well I have done; was this where I planned to be six years back?, what skills have I acquired over this period? Am I better off now? Should I have been able to do better than this? Where did I fall short?, etc. (I carry out this quick mind exercise at various times to see how well I am fairing. Usually to cheer myself to aim higher – where I see that I am lagging – or psych myself up when a situation begins to seem unachievable or uninteresting. In this case, I think the latter was in operation). I came to a conclusion that I have done well but I could have done better. So I think back on reasons I have been able to achieve the few things that I have achieved so far and the reason was glaring to me – by taking on more responsibilities.