Finding friends at work is a positive thing. I've talked many times about the benefits of having friends in the office, like increased productivity and overall job satisfaction. In short, when you have a buddy near you during the day, you'll do good work and feel better about your situation.
But like anything, there is also a flip side. One study found that "office chit-chat ranked as the No. 1 work distraction." I imagine that this applies to friends in the office as well as acquaintances. Like anything, you have to understand boundaries in order to make the most of an office friendship.
In case you're wondering, "chit-chat" wasn't the only thing listed as distractions at work. The rest included:
- Surfing the web
- Dealing with office politics
- Addressing misunderstandings with co-workers
- Using social media
- Checking email
- Following company rules and procedures
I'd agree with most of those, wouldn't you? I'd say checking email is probably my biggest time waster. I try really hard not to do that too much, but it's always a struggle.
What's your biggest office distraction?