Most people really don't enjoy going to work; this is unfortunate since we do spend a lot of time there. One of the reasons that most of us don't really like going to work is that we don't have a close connection with the people that work with. Making friends with your coworkers can make the whole experience of having to work more enjoyable. Making friends at work will likely take some effort on your part but it is well worth the effort.

While there is no requirement that you make friends with the people that you work with you will find that the job is a lot more pleasant if you do. You are going to be spending a lot of time with the people that you work with, probably more time than you do with your other friends, so you might as well become friends with them as well. It is one of those situations where since you have to be there anyway you might as well make the best of it.

Having friends at work will go a long way to helping make sure that you don't feel alone while you are at work. One of the things that a lot of people hate most about working is the that feel like they are alone and have no human contact. This is often the case even if you work in an office full of other people. Most of us will just go sit at our desk and do our job with a minimum of interaction with other people. Making an effort to have friends at work can help to address this problem.

Another reason that you are going to want to make friends at work is that there are career benefits to doing so. While it would be nice to believe that career advancement is based entirely on merit we all know that this isn't the case. It is often only natural to favor friends when it comes to time to hand out job assignments or promotions. Having a lot of friends also tends to make you more popular around the office and this in itself can be a career advantage. People who are seen as friendly and popular do tend to be more likely to get promoted.

Of course when it comes to making friends at work there are various levels of friendship involved. There is a huge difference between the people you socialize with on weekends and the people you eat lunch with. There is no need to make your coworkers your best friends and have your social life revolve around them, although if that happens that is great. However being able to chat with your coworkers or have somebody to eat lunch with will make going to work a much more pleasant experience, and hopefully make the day go by faster.