Having friends at the office can make your job more enjoyable, but it can also be a gateway to stress-inducing drama. A clinical psychologist explains how to walk the fine line: fostering positive relationships with colleagues while protecting yourself from the negativity and enmeshment that can harm your well-being.
The pressure-cooker environment of the modern workplace can often breed gossip and negativity. When professional and personal boundaries with colleagues become blurred, it’s easy to get sucked into these toxic dynamics. This social stress adds a significant burden to your already demanding job, with real physiological consequences.
The key strategy recommended by the expert is to “decouple” while remaining friendly. This means consciously choosing not to participate in gossip. It means keeping conversations professional and positive, and avoiding over-sharing about your personal life or becoming overly involved in theirs.
This doesn’t mean you have to be cold or distant. You can still be a supportive and collaborative team member. The goal is to maintain a level of emotional detachment that allows you to leave work—and its social complexities—behind at the end of the day. This boundary is a critical component of a comprehensive stress management plan that also includes taking breaks and developing a resilient mindset.