Happy hour? More like solo hour.
A study by HR platform Nectar found that more than two-thirds of workers crave closer colleague connections — with a whopping 80% of 18- to 24-year-olds longing for a work bestie.
In a pre-COVID world, grabbing drinks with coworkers or bonding over a daily Sweetgreen salad was a sacred ritual.
But in today’s hybrid haze of Slack pings and noise-canceling headphones, office friendships are fizzling fast.
And just because we want them, doesn’t mean we’re getting them.
“Offices are more insular, with people in their own microcosms ignoring colleagues,” workplace psychologist Craig Jackson told Cosmopolitan UK, noting the spike in noise-canceling headphone sales.
Translation: coworkers aren’t just keeping their distance — they’re tuning each other out.
The shift is felt across industries.
“We used to go out together every Friday for work drinks, but that stopped after Covid – and a lot of us became parents, so it became harder in that sense, anyway,” Charlotte, 33, an estate agent, told the outlet.
“But we’re still a close team and message outside of work, despite rarely hanging out in person.”
For some, that’s enough. For others, the pandemic sparked a workplace rebrand — one where coworkers are just that. Colleagues. Not confidants.
“I work for the NHS, and while I gossip about anything and everything with my co-workers, we tend to only socialise at Christmas,” pharmacy technician Lizzie, 29, said to the publication.
“We get nothing funded, not even said Christmas party, which makes it harder, given the cost of living crisis.”
The loneliness doesn’t just hit the newbies. Even top brass aren’t immune.
“Friendships can suffer when one friend becomes ‘anointed’ and the other doesn’t,” said Jackson, calling the post-promotion loneliness phenomenon “executive isolation.”
His advice for climbing the ladder without losing your lifeline? Stop trauma-dumping down the hierarchy and find new peers at your level.
For those searching for a desk mate turned ride-or-die, Jackson suggests bonding the old-fashioned way — over shared gripes.
“Social cohesion and mutual support increases when all parties are ‘suffering’ together and focusing on team goals,” he noted.
“Even if it’s low-level griping about the workplace, that is an important activity [but don’t let it get out of hand].”
Employers also need to do their part, BrightHR CEO Alan Price dished to the pub: “Companies should step up by organizing social events.” The least you can do? RSVP “yes.”
And while the glory days of work spouses may be gone, a healthy handful of workplace pals might be all you need.
As Cosmopolitan UK features editor Jennifer Savin notes: “When workers have ‘good’ relationships with five friendly colleagues, that’s enough to feel adequately connected and joyful in your career.”
Read the full article here
