Friends and family get us through our personal lives. They support us through our hardest times, tell us the hard truths, and see us at our absolute worst.
But we spend a lot of our time at work—over 2,000 hours per year for Americans with a standard 9-to-5. That’s significant over an entire lifetime. But most people don’t get to work with their close friends and family members; that is, until their work friendships start to bloom.
Having a “work bestie” significantly improves the work experience for employees. Gallup research found that workers with a best friend at work were less likely to be looking for a different job than those who didn’t. Having a best work friend also significantly improved work satisfaction for employees, Gallup found.
But work friends can also have a bad reputation for distracting us from work, spreading gossip, and creating cliques. However, instead of work friendships taking the blame, these are signs that the work environment is likely suffering on a much bigger scale.
In positive workplace cultures, friendships are encouraged and nurtured. Instead of people getting together to complain, gossip, or exclude, they support and trust each other.
The importance of having strong friendships at work
Why are work relationships so important? Because socializing is important to our health and wellbeing. And with all the time we spend at work, it becomes a main area for a consistent social life.
The CDC reports that being socially connected—having a sense of belonging and feeling cared for, valued, and supported—has been found to contribute to longer lives and better health. People can better cope with stress and problems and often make healthier choices with others around them.
Work friendships can help employees develop true communities where they feel comfortable, appreciated, and seen. Employees can depend on their coworkers to have their back and show up for them every day. They can relate to their peers, which is huge in establishing a positive workplace. They feel more confident and capable when they trust others and feel their support.
So, pursuing and nurturing those work relationships can ultimately lead to a lot of benefits—both for you and for your company’s culture.
30+ work friends quotes to celebrate your favorite coworker
Sometimes a little inspiration can help you express how you feel about your pals in the workplace. These quotes about work friends represent just how important it is to have people you can trust and the joy and companionship they bring to your professional life.
Quotes about work besties
1. “If you can’t afford a therapist, all you need is Slack and a work best friend.”
2. “You know you have a work bestie when you have someone that will tell you when your shirt is on inside out.”
3. “There’s nothing quite like a good work friend. They see you at your most stressful, they see you procrastinate, they see you fake it to get through a meeting, and they see you drink too much at the holiday party. Yet they still must know, every day, what you brought for lunch.”
4. “You know you have a work bestie when work starts to come second.”
5. “Work friends are kind of like siblings. They’re the only ones who can interpret your eye rolls when the boss leaves the room.”
6. “One minute you’re work acquaintances, the next you’re picking up their kids from school.”
7. “A work husband/wife is really just someone you can complain to about your husband or wife.”
8. “If you tell a joke, and your work bestie wasn’t around to hear it, did it really happen?”
Funny quotes about work friends
9. “Work friends are like other people’s kids. They entertain you, they delight you, and you connect with them, but someone else has to take them home.”
10. “You know you have a work bestie when little treats start appearing at your desk.”
11. “Work friends make terrible bosses tolerable.”
12. “I don’t know what’s worse—getting fired or my work bestie getting fired.”
13. “Friends who work together, complain together.”
14. “Friends who work together, quit together.”
15. “A true work friend is the first person you text on your day off to rub it in their face.”
16. “A good work friend will always—ALWAYS—alert you about leftover cake or bagels in the kitchen.”
Quotes on teamwork
17. “No one succeeds alone.”
18. “A strong team makes the impossible possible.”
19. “Having a team to lean on at work means you never fail alone.”
20. “The more diverse your team, the stronger the outcomes.”
21. “Only with your coworkers cheering you on can you believe in yourself and your ideas at work.”
22. “Work friendships help you stop caring about getting all the credit.”
23. “Working with a great team means no one’s unique talents are wasted.”
24. “You know you work with the best team when you’re home sick and don’t have to check your email.”
Quotes on trusting your work friends
25. “A work bestie takes the fall for you when they can tell you’re close to the bottom already.”
26. “Putting your trust in a work friend helps you trust yourself more.”
27. “Don’t underestimate work friends. No matter where your career takes you, they’ll be behind the scenes, cheering you on.”
28. “If you’re lucky, work friendships turn into lifelong support systems.”
29. “Fully trusting someone at work is rare. But when strong work friendships bloom, they become one of the most important relationships of your life.
30. “A good work friend doesn’t hold you back when it’s time to leave the company. They leave with you.”
31. “A work bestie is someone you never have to explain yourself to. They just get it.”
32. “The best work friendships are built on three things: accountability, snacks, and sanity.”
