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World Friendship Day special: Seven friends to celebrate in every office

With input from Aditi Sharma Kalra and Priya Sunil.

The team at Human Resources Online has always had a close relationship - more like friends than colleagues. Over the years, we have written about the joys of friendships in the office and why making friends at work is good for us.

With today being World Friendship Day - a day to celebrate the special love between friends and the strength and power of their friendship, we decided to compile a list of the some friends you would encounter in every office.


The baking buddy

Every office has that one prolific baker - the one who bakes matcha cakes and boozy cheesecakes with equal ease, the one who rescues the over-ripe bananas and bakes them into magically-moist banana bread, and the one who spends her weekends at Phoon Huat.

If you don't have a baker in office, that’s unfortunate (come visit us!). But if you do, today’s the day to thank that friend for all calories and sweetness they’ve treated you to!

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The mama shop

“Does anyone have a plaster? These shoes are biting me”

“Do you have some mint? I have a funny taste in my mouth after lunch”

“The pantry is out of aluminium foil - does anyone happen to have some?”

The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes, when your office buddy is what we call ‘the mama shop’. They’re the one who happens to stock everything you could dream of, and it’s hard to miss it because they probably have bags full of stuff lying around their desk.

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The calm companion 

When the whole world’s a storm, everyone looks for their mature and sensible colleague to help rationalise things. The one who listens coolly and patiently, the one who knows when it’s time to hear out a rant and when it’s time to offer a solution or advice, and the one who always seems to know what to do while keeping your best interests in mind. Hold on to them if you’ve got an office friend like this, as their calmness can help to drown out noise on your toughest days.

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The chatterbox

This is the one who is always coming up to your desk and striking up the most random conversation while you’re busy with a task. He or she is never short of stories too, and can keep a conversation going for long - and they know it. At the heart of it all, they are true gems. If you’re always brushing this friend off, take the time today to ask them out for a meal or spend some time outside of work with them.

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The busy bee

Remember the chatterbox friend whom you’re always brushing off (unintentionally)? Chances are the one who most often brushes the chatterbox off is the busy bee. Always deep in some task, the busy bee brushes everyone off with barely a turn of the head and a "sorry, can't talk now". Don't get offended, however, as they'll give you all the time and attention when you do finally hang out.

In our office, the editorial team, is guilty of this especially while we're preparing our daily bulletin. But, we always make up for it with lunch or dinner with our office friends.

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The helping hand

Whether you've forgotten to withdraw cash for lunch or you need help with a task, this is the friend you can always count on. The helping hand is always more than happy to help without expecting anything in return. If you have such office friends, give them a shout-out today or simply say 'thank you' to put a smile on their faces.

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The OT buddy

It's past working hours and you've still got a task to complete. Looks like you're going to have to burn stay till 9pm today. You look up and see a familiar face - or in some offices, familiar faces. They're almost always the last ones to leave and when you know you're going to be staying back late, these are the usual suspects you approach when looking to share delivery fees while ordering food in for dinner. You can always count on this friend to keep you company as you stay late complete your work.

If your office has an OT buddy, instead of ordering food in, try to lure them out of the office to hang out over dinner just for today.

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Bonus: The invisible one

You know that friend - or maybe you don't because they're hardly noticeable. This is the friend who is always so quietly minding their own business that people always forget about them while making plans. They don't usually mind though, since they usually prefer to stick to themselves anyway. That said, it can feel lonely being forgotten about all the time.

With today being World Friendship Day, take some time to look around the office to spot these 'invisible ones' and invite them out for lunch. Who knows, you may just make another best friend in the office.

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Whether your office friend appears on this list or not, take some time to celebrate and appreciate them this World Friendship Day. And, if you don't currently have any office friends, it's never too late to start making some.

Here's wishing you a Happy World Friendship Day from the team at Human Resources Online!

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GIFs / GIPHY Photo / 123RF

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