Attachment to co-workers

[Ava]

Wow! Today was an emotional day at work.

Someone in my team left, today was his last day. He's an awesome person and it was great working with him.

My manager was so sad, this guy had worked for him for over 15 years. We were all sad to see him go but he found a great opportunity somewhere else.

Of course I'm glad for him.

I act very professional at work but I'm a human being and I develop feelings for people around me.

I'm very shy and it takes me a long time to warm up to someone new, but  over time I get to know them and like them a lot. I'm very introverted though.

The most interesting part is that this person is completely different from me in his background, political ideas, religious views, lifestyle, etc. We got along great. I wouldn't have met him or get to know him well if it wasn't through work.

Now he's out of my life. I gave him my contact info, and he started to write his info for me in a sticky note. I told him you don't have to do that, don't feel obligated. He said he wanted to give me the information. He probably will never contact me.

Maybe I get so attached to people at work because I live alone and my family is so far away.

I am working hard at making real friendships that will still be in my life whether I change jobs or move cities. It's not easy for me, but at least I'm trying.

Days like this one really suck.

[suesinfl]

Hugs Ava, it's so hard to make connections when you're an introvert. Be glad and blessed that you were able to see and embrace a different side of him. Keep trying, your efforts are not in vain. You are a good person who will make a difference in someone's life.

[swamp]

That's why I like Facebook. I've connected or reconnected with a lot of people I would ordinarily not have contact with.  

[zibazinski]

Oct 23, 2015 22:28:17 GMT -5 Ava said:

Wow! Today was an emotional day at work.

Someone in my team left, today was his last day. He's an awesome person and it was great working with him.

My manager was so sad, this guy had worked for him for over 15 years. We were all sad to see him go but he found a great opportunity somewhere else.

Of course I'm glad for him.

I act very professional at work but I'm a human being and I develop feelings for people around me.

I'm very shy and it takes me a long time to warm up to someone new, but  over time I get to know them and like them a lot. I'm very introverted though.

The most interesting part is that this person is completely different from me in his background, political ideas, religious views, lifestyle, etc. We got along great. I wouldn't have met him or get to know him well if it wasn't through work.

Now he's out of my life. I gave him my contact info, and he started to write his info for me in a sticky note. I told him you don't have to do that, don't feel obligated. He said he wanted to give me the information. He probably will never contact me.

Maybe I get so attached to people at work because I live alone and my family is so far away.

I am working hard at making real friendships that will still be in my life whether I change jobs or move cities. It's not easy for me, but at least I'm trying.

Days like this one really suck.

You'll find once you live in Florida how many friends want to visit you!

[alabamagal]

Ava I am very like you. I make work friends pretty easily. But I am not great at "I'll keep in touch". I do keep contact through Facebook or LinkedIn.

[haapai]

I envy you Ava.  In my workplace, the nicest things that you can say to voluntarily departing coworkers are, "Don't come back / I never want to see you again" and "Forget about this place."  Even worse, we really mean what we're saying. 

[cael]

Sorry to hear that ava. I am very close to two of my coworkers.. one of whom has been looking for a new job for years. I feel bad he never gets offered anything... but seriously the day he leaves will be the worst ever. We're probably too attached and have been through all the ups and downs of the last 8 years in the office together, so as eachother's confidants and avenues for venting, it'll be tough when we have to split up. We aren't opposite at all - we think the same about most major issues, can finish sentences and guess what the other is thinking, and have very similar personalities. He's like a mentor/big brother/close friend to me.

I totally feel your pain, it'll be hard to lose him.

[steph08]

Sorry your coworker is leaving! Definitely keep in touch.

I have one coworker that I talk to constantly throughout the day. We watch the same TV shows, etc. He is 60 and I dream the day he retires or if he ever leaves. I have told myself that on that day, I will ask my boss if I can switch to permanently telecommuting because there will be no reason left for me to go into the office. And that is the god's honest truth.

[TheOtherMe]

Working for the federal agency where I spent 25 years, we became close to each other.  I am very happy that even though I have moved about 750 miles away, I am still in contact with several of those people via telephone and/or Facebook. 

There is so much that we couldn't talk about with anybody but each other and I think it made us closer.  So many romances and so many weddings and babies.  A few divorces, but mostly happy marriages. 

That was by far the best part of working at that federal agency.  We understood each other's job stress and nobody else could.

[emma1420]

I am very close to some of my coworkers.  To the point where they are some of the major reasons I stay in my current job.  They help make it fun.  However, I also know Shen I leave that I probably won't stay in touch outside of Facebook with them.  As that is what has happened with other former co-workers. 

[Phoenix84]

I am friendly with my co workers, but I don't get particularly attached to them.

I'm friendly, but not really friends. All of them are at least 15 years older, most are married, and they have different interests.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I have remained friends with some of my co-workers for over 30 years.  Not all, but just about all of my circle of friends I have worked with at one time or another.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I have been friends now for almost 10 years with a former co-worker from Creighton. We kept in touch via Facebook after I left.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 24, 2015 6:17:54 GMT -5 swamp said:

That's why I like Facebook. I've connected or reconnected with a lot of people I would ordinarily not have contact with.  

Facebook gets a bad rap, but it is a great way to keep in touch with these kinds of friends. I made a few really good friends at a job that I had over 4 years ago. We all live in different places now and have our own lives, so it wouldn't be feasible to see each other or speak on the phone. It is nice to be able to be updated when exciting things happen to them and have a quick and easy way to congratulate them.

[TheOtherMe]

The best part of FB for me has been re-connecting with grade school, junior high and high school friends.  We have mini-reunions about every 6 weeks and they are so fun.  By living out of state, I had totally lost touch with them.  Some I did know in school, but not all.  At the first one, the person who organized it said something to the effect that we are all adults now, forget the cliques and stuff we did in high school and mingle.  We did and it's great.