There is a lot to be said about the power of women. We are powerhouses! It is no surprise that we can and do excel at everything we put our hands to. It is also worth noting that we don’t do this alone. We collaborate, advocate, and support each other. Whether it is at the beginning stages of our businesses or careers or after we have made a name for ourselves in our respective spaces. Community matters.
When you think about where you are today, how did you get here? Did you hustle your way alone or did you partner with one or more people? Chances are, even if you did the majority of the heavy lifting...someone somewhere helped you do achieve a goal. Working together works, and when we come together, we can go farther faster. It is a winning position for us all.
While this can definitely be said for entrepreneurs, the same is true for the woman working a 9 to 5. It is so important to find a work bestie. Why? Having someone in your corner doesn’t start and stop with family and friends, it’s necessary on the job as well. We can often face a lot of hardships at work. Pressure from our superiors, stressful days, issues with those who work under us, and the overall weight put on us to perform well. It can all be a lot for one person to take.
A work bestie helps to ease the load and makes the time spent at work more enjoyable. Provided, most of us are working from home during this time, but that doesn’t take away the need to have a good buddy to help make the day go by through IMs and text messages. If you can connect with more than one person, a group chat can be lit! Lol
One thing a work bestie can provide is support. Whether that person is in your department, ahead of you in their career, or works on a different team, they can provide you with support to help during those long stressful days. Support can look like many things, such as offering advice on a project, stopping by or IM’ing with some encouragement, going to lunch, or even talking you off the ledge when you’re ready to quit! Knowing someone is there that you can vent to and rely on is invaluable.
Another thing is advocacy. This one is really helpful when your work bestie may be a bit more advanced in their career. If you’re vying for a promotion or a new job in your company, a work bestie can vouch for you and help shift things in your favor. Also, if you two work on the same team, it’s possible you could rely on each other to take care of projects or share the work for daily tasks. This helps decrease stress for you both and creates more time to handle larger, more important things on your plates.
If you already have a good friend at work, keep them! Nurture that relationship because it’s truly priceless. If you don’t have it, but want to cultivate one, work on starting small conversations with the people around you. Find out what your common interests are and ways you can connect. When you see them, say hello and ask about their day. I understand making friends as an adult can be different, but it’s still very possible! Just be nice! :)
You’ll be glad you made the connection.
By: Danada Hart