November 3, 2025 • 19 mins
Work Besties as a Support System
Having a work bestie isn’t just nice — it’s survival. In this episode, Jess and Claude unpack why workplace friendships aren’t fluff, they’re foundational to your mental health, motivation, and sanity.
They share how a true work bestie becomes your emotional armor — the person who helps you breathe through chaos, laugh through deadlines, and stay grounded when things get messy.
You’ll hear:
• The 3 ways work besties boost well-being — venting, validation, and accountability
• Real-life stories from Jess & Claude’s own friendship
• How to evolve your connection when your bestie becomes your boss
• Tips to build your own support circle at work
Because the secret to workplace well-being isn’t coffee or pizza parties — it’s connection.
🎧 Listen now and tag your emotional partner in crime.
💎 Your Supportive Work Besties, Jess & Claude
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Claude (00:00):
Having a Work Bestie isn't just nice to have it, it's
actually survival.
It's like oxygen, this personthat you can vent, you can talk
to it.
Jess (00:10):
I think the real secret to workplace well-being is having
that connection.
Claude (00:15):
Hi, I'm Cloud, and I'm Jeff.
We are corporate employees byday, entrepreneurs by night, and
work besties for life.
Jess (00:23):
Join us as we explore how work besties lift each other up,
laugh through the chaos, andthrive together in every
industry.
Work besties.
Hi, besties.
Welcome to Work BestiesPodcast.
Today we're getting into one ofour favorite topics ever: Work
Besties as support system.
Claude (00:43):
Yeah, because you know, listen, having a work bestie
isn't just nice to have it, it'sactually survival.
You need it.
Jess (00:51):
It's like oxygen.
Totally.
I think the real secret toworkplace well-being is having
that person who you can go toand just relax.
You get that little bit of yougot this.
Take that deep breath,everything's gonna be okay.
Claude (01:06):
And you know that it's not going to go anywhere, which
is the most important.
So there's this trust thing.
And you know, it's let's bereal.
Friendship, well, and also, youknow, friendship at work,
really help with your mentalhealth, your motivation, and
your sanity.
Jess (01:25):
Totally.
And we've lived it, we've beenthe ones hiding in hallways or
bathrooms whispering, what inthe world is going on here?
Yeah.
Oh my god, did you hear that?
I know.
We totally need that one personwho just totally gets it with
you.
So today we're gonna unpack whythat connection is so powerful
(01:45):
and how to build one if youdon't quite have one yet.
Claude (01:48):
Yeah, exactly.
So, first, let's start, eventhough you're the insight person
usually, but you know, I lovethis insight, Gallup.
That we always say it, Galluphas found that people who have a
best friend are actually seventimes more likely to be engaged
in their job.
And of course, best friend atwork.
Jess (02:10):
Yeah, and can you think of any other fact that really can
impact productivity, support,engagement at work?
Pizza party, maybe coffee.
Claude (02:20):
I think my caffeine helps me, but yeah, but not as
much as you can really.
Oh, thank you.
But it's it's not justengagement, right?
It's also well-being.
That's where it's not about allthe company, but how we feel
inside the company.
Because let's be real, youknow, a lot of time we might be
stressed, you know, thedeadline, there's chaos, there's
(02:41):
a lot of things going on.
Jess (02:42):
Yeah, and I think what helps with that is you don't
feel so lonely.
You feel like somebody else isthere, they are going with it.
Claude (02:48):
Yeah.
Jess (02:49):
And yes, you might have those deadlines, may have those
never-ending emails or evenmeetings, but being able to have
someone who you can take thatpause andor laugh.
Like how many times have webeen super stressed?
Do we just giggle aboutsomething?
And it helps.
Claude (03:06):
And it's like you remember when we were especially
at 6 p.m., you know, those 6p.m.
that's when the late the latenight, that's where we bought so
many things online, you know,like how Halloween costume.
Or the magic Halloween costume.
So yeah.
So they there's make a big, bigdifference.
Jess (03:24):
Yeah, and it helps you also feel like you belong,
because we know that there'sstill that loneliness epidemic
that's out there, and that doesnot just mean for kids in
school, it does also relate tothose in the workforce.
So having a work bestie helpsprovide that emotional
connection, that psychpsychological safety net.
Claude (03:45):
And it literally helps your brain relax.
Exactly.
It's like an emotional harm,right?
And I have to say also it'ssomething where you know that
the person is going in the same,going through the same thing.
Right, right.
You can say your significantother, you know, they they don't
know what we're going throughat work.
(04:05):
So to have this person that youmanage, you can talk to is
really incredible.
Jess (04:11):
Right.
A way to state it and how we'vesaid it before is um having
connections in all walks of lifeis super helpful, but having
the person who really is livingand breathing the same examples,
it really helps or create thatbond in a more unique way.
So that really truly means thatwork besties, in a way, are
kind of like your soulmatebecause they're good for your
(04:33):
soul.
They are.
Claude (04:34):
Soulmates.
So we can go into the how,right?
So, how exactly do thesefriendships support our mental
health?
Jess (04:42):
Okay, so we are gonna share with you three ways that
we see it as helping.
At least these were the topthree that we felt were the most
resounding.
Number one, venting, butventing without judgment, which
I can personally attest to isthe best part of one of the
best.
There's a lot of vent, I'vebeen able to vent to you, and
(05:03):
there's never a judging.
Claude (05:04):
And vice versa, right?
It's the same thing where andwhat I liked also, I remember
one time you were venting, and Istarted saying, Oh, you you
should do this, and you justsay, No, I just want to vent.
Remember, it's to as the otherperson that received the
venting, sometimes it's just tovent.
(05:25):
It's not to try to resolve, andit feels better.
It's like it's everything comesout from the inside.
Menting is so important, andalso to hear, no, you're not
overreacting.
Or you are, you are, which isfine.
You know, you still let them,it doesn't matter.
Jess (05:41):
I appreciate because there are times where you're like, I
think you are overreacting, areyou are you done?
Are you done?
I think you are overreacting,but I you have your space, and I
get why.
So that you're right.
Uh without judgment, butsomebody who will still hold you
kind of accountable respect onthat.
But sometimes you do just needto vent.
Claude (05:59):
It's good.
A good venting session is goodfor the soul.
Jess (06:04):
All right.
So number two, emotionalvalidation.
Explain a bit more then.
Yes, I would say this is onewhere your work bestie will kind
of set different elements thansay having a friend outside of
work.
By that we mean when we gothrough certain situations at
work, that person usually isthere with you or knows the
players, right?
So perhaps you're in a meetingand you walk out and you're
(06:28):
like, wow, that meeting wasreally awkward.
What the heck was that?
Having that person that repliedback saying, What the heck was
that?
is the emotional validationsometimes.
You need.
You don't need to vent on it.
You don't need to, you justneed someone to be like, was
that right?
Claude (06:44):
Real?
Was that did that really justhappen?
I know.
It's like being in thetwilight, the twilight zone, and
it helps you to keep fromspiraling.
So yeah.
Jess (06:58):
And then the other, the other way you think about
emotional validation too, is um,there's been times where one of
us have been in a meeting andpresented, and we've asked the
other person for feedback.
And usually the person, this isone where I do feel sometimes
getting feedback, it's always agift, but getting feedback can
be hard, especially if it's apresentation or a meeting you've
(07:20):
really prepped for, and havingthat trust in somebody who's
gonna tell you to you really,yes, it is easier to hear it
from them and having thatvalidation because again, they
know the background of you andwhat you did to prepare for it.
So yeah, totally.
Claude (07:37):
And then there's accountability.
Number three, accountability.
Number three.
So, for example, good workbestie will call you out of with
love, and something like, okay,it's 6 p.m., time to get out.
You say that you wanted toleave at 5:30, or you wanted to
leave at 6, it's 10 p.m.
(07:59):
right now, you know.
So this accountability is alsoimportant.
Jess (08:04):
Yeah, it helps giving you that reality check, but also
having that cheerleader that'sby your side.
Yeah, because it's hard, it'shard out there.
We are each other's emotionalco-worker safety nate.
And we have to figure out waysto help people from burning out.
That is one of the topics thatwe get requested the most about
is support around burnout andfeeling seen, supported at work
(08:28):
is that mental health gamechanger that will help get past
some of the burnout situations.
All right, so we just gavethree things that we feel are
gonna help the most.
Next, we thought we would givesome real life situations that
we've gone through.
You thought you were gonna kickoff with one.
Claude (08:46):
And you know, everybody knows now that between the yin
and the yang, right?
I always say we are the yin andthe yang, even at work.
So not only our personality,but at work.
So for example, Jess' strengthwas where my weakness, and vice
versa, my strength were yourweakness.
One of my weaknesses was a lotof data, right?
(09:07):
Remembering the data andeverything.
And I remember during apresentation, and there were
quite a lot of important people.
Suddenly, I had like a blankwhen someone asked me for a data
point, and I had a blank.
And you were there and youhelped me right away.
You were able to answer, and Ifelt so relieved.
(09:28):
That's no, it's true.
Jess (09:30):
I I really if it's the one I'm thinking of, I think it was
yeah, it's somebody asked likea double click into what you
were presenting, which justmeans like the slide didn't have
the exact answer, and you knewit.
I knew you knew it because youand I had practiced it, and I
believe it was somethingactually we had worked on
together, so I had the theactual Excel file.
So, yes, I helped you, but Ibelieve I even said, like,
(09:52):
Claude, you you and I were justdiscussing this.
You're the one who came to meon this.
Yeah, yeah.
Because it was true.
Yep.
Uh so I do think that's anotherthing we should put in there
too, is uh accountability, butalso uh accolades for your work
bestie helps substantiallybecause I could have taken that
time to still your thunder, butI knew all the hard work you
would put in there, and it's soimportant to have that level of
(10:13):
trust with somebody to get tothat.
Claude (10:16):
Exactly.
Jess (10:17):
Well, that's awesome.
I I did not did not think thatthat was gonna be the example
you were gonna do.
I think the example I thoughtyou were gonna do was how I
always forgot we had that oneemail that we had to send
together at the same time.
Yeah.
And I always forgot likeclockwork.
And literally it's it wasn'tthe exact same week of the
(10:39):
month.
And there was one where I thinkwe were specifically told I had
to go out at this exact timeperiod.
And you like clockwork came tome and you were like, Are you
ready to go?
And so you kept me in check, soI didn't have to know.
Claude (10:51):
And that's where I loved is I don't like there's
competition, right?
One because we were in the samerole but different brands,
yeah.
Let's say.
So it could have gone tocompetition, but on the
contrary, it was totally likehelping each other.
So could have been someonesending the email before the
(11:13):
other one to make ourselves lookgood, but we never did that.
So we actually, as a job, wewere like one, two, three, four.
And we were hit it at the sametime.
Jess (11:23):
You know, those little things they matter, they do,
right?
I think uh it would always makeus giggle too.
I know, but at the endeverybody was giggling because
they knew if they came at thesame the same moment.
Those are just a couple ofexamples.
There's so many of them.
I think that's the cool thingabout having a work bestie, is
(11:44):
it's they're always there tohelp you.
Um and vice versa.
You're always willing to leanand help them.
Exactly.
And to laugh.
Yeah.
And laugh.
Especially during the moststressful down days.
There's times where I just saysomething and you give me the
look and it just puts me in adifferent mood.
The look.
The look, the look.
There's only one.
Let's let's switch topics here.
(12:06):
We do know that not all workfriendships are smooth sailing.
Even with your work bestie,there are times that things can
get a little rocky or bumpy andwhich is normal.
Right.
Every relationship.
And sometimes what sets thatoff, you could be put in
situations where you make it acompetition.
Whenever we did that, we madeit into something funny.
(12:28):
Yeah, but I don't think we justjoking competition.
I don't remember.
Did we try something as acompetition though?
We jokingly would be like, oh,I did this first, or I had five
slides versus your six slides.
Like silly stuff.
Like we never made it into likea full-on, like oh yeah, but it
was as a joke.
But but there are some peoplethat maybe are both going for a
(12:50):
promotion or going for somethingthat you could make into a
competition.
We always felt, as work bestieswho were at the same level,
that as we're going on ourjourney, that even if we were
trying to go for something thesame, that it wasn't about
making the other person lookbad.
It was always exactly it wasalways that we lift both of each
other up.
(13:10):
So that's something that wetotally do recommend is is
really always remember theimportance of that.
Totally lifting each other.
Claude (13:17):
That is such a big one.
That should have been thenumber one, actually.
Jess (13:21):
But what a but what we did recognize though is sometimes
that person, and it isn't you,does get that new role.
And suddenly they might becomeyour boss or even a higher
level.
And that definitely puts adifferent spin on a work best in
friendship.
Claude (13:36):
Okay, and I know we all we think differently.
We little think a littledifferently.
For me, for example, if I havea friend that became my boss, I
will be very careful.
I will not joke or send likeemail, oh my god, you know, I'm
ready to kill myself.
You know, or this guy anyway.
But you know what I mean.
(13:57):
You know, I'm like, oh my god,I can't stand this guy.
Because now I'm like, they aremore like my boss, so I still
want to be professional, eventhough I think and I know I'm
sure that they know what I'mthinking, but I'm still not
going to make those funny I amso whatever as much.
Jess (14:15):
So you set healthy well, you set boundaries.
I both set healthy boundaries,they're just different styles.
Exactly.
So for you, I think in thisparticular instance is what
we're saying is you can still bebest or work besties with them.
You might just have to evolveyour friendship in different
ways.
And in both ways, we do evolvethem.
Yours is more you will stillkid around with them and
(14:37):
potentially talk about what'sgoing on personally or maybe a
little bit, no?
And I'm not going to overshare.
Yeah, exactly.
Or like overshare at all work.
Right.
Yeah.
And I think what where I shiftit is I still sometimes
overshare with my boss, who I'mvery close with, absolutely
(14:57):
adore, but I don't necessarilyvent.
I try and say, here'severything that's going on, and
we kid about stuff.
Yeah.
It's the same with me.
It's all about that level oftrust that's to your point.
Claude (15:10):
It's the same.
Like we try sometimes I willvent like crazy.
And it's again healthy, right?
Um, like someone for sometimessome people on my team vent to
me and we're not work besties.
Yeah, but I'm still, you know,very friendly, but I'm still
being careful because they'restill our superior.
Well, they're your boss,nobody's superior.
Jess (15:31):
Well, oh my god, yes.
I think you could say we'reboth valid, or we're both right.
There's no right or wrong.
The the recommendation thoughwould be for both of us is
you're going to have to thinkabout shifting your relationship
a little.
Claude (15:43):
Yeah.
There's no competition.
But I'm right.
Jess (15:46):
You were right for your personality.
All right.
Claude (15:49):
Now, how do you build your support circle?
If you don't have a work bestieor you've always been afraid of
having a work bestie andsharing, how do you get those
connections?
Well, first you listen to ourpodcast and we become your work
besties.
Jess (16:07):
Reach out to us.
We love everybody.
We'll be your work bestie.
You're all amazing.
Jokes aside, if you reallydon't have a work bestie, we
recommend start small.
Find somebody that you havesomething in common with and ask
them to grab coffee.
Yeah.
Um, maybe even lean in andoffer to help somebody on a
project.
It could be something just assimple as a compliment, too.
(16:30):
Yeah.
Hey, I saw your presentation.
That was really cool.
We pick them up with that.
Claude (16:34):
Okay, it's really showing genuine interest because
people then can feel thatyou're being authentic.
Jess (16:41):
So yes, it's showing genuine interest.
It's checking in regularly.
If you've got weekly calls andyou guys had a joke about the
last time someone entered thecall, they forgot to put their
video on and it was reallyfunny, or forgot to keep putting
themselves off mute.
Maybe check in each one and belike, I wonder if so-and-so is
gonna forget mute again.
Something silly like that, justto ensure you're consistently
(17:04):
bringing back that check-in andthat trust.
Claude (17:07):
And also say how are you doing?
Are you okay?
Yeah.
You know, that's reallycheck-in is really important
too.
Are you fine?
Jess (17:14):
It depends on how long you've worked in companies and
how the culture is in each ofthem.
But sometimes I've foundfriends just watching comments
through our team chats or Slackwhen you're in bigger meetings,
and uh somebody says somethingthat really made me giggle, and
I I don't do it through the themeeting.
I do a one-off just for them,and I've really built some
(17:35):
strong relationships based offof that.
Exactly.
And you don't have to be in thesame department to be world
besties, you know.
It's actually probably betterif you're not.
Yeah.
It works both ways.
It goes both ways.
So here's the big takeaway: friendships at work are fun. (17:47):
undefined
Just on they're foundational.
Claude (17:52):
Yeah, they help you love through all the things, chaos,
deadline, and uh officepolitics, so friendship.
Humanize your, you know, yourwork environment and what is
better than humanized throughgenuine connections.
Jess (18:10):
Exactly.
So text your work bestie or DMthem a Slacker Teams message
right now and tell them they'reyour emotional partner in crime.
Emotional partner in crime.
That's so cute.
Love it.
I mean, it's true.
You're my hype person at times,you're my sounding board,
you're my unofficial therapist,and sometimes I forget to tell
(18:33):
you how much you matter to me.
So don't forget to remind them.
Dito.
And keep tell each other memes.
We should have had that as thefourth eye line item.
We'll see you next time on WorkBestie's 2 podcast, where we'd
like to keep it real, relatable,and slightly chaotic, just like
that favorite office chatthread.
Claude (18:54):
Yeah.
And until next time, take careof yourself and your work
bestie.
Bye.
Jess (18:59):
Remember, whether you're swapping snacks in the break
room, rescuing each other fromendless.
Having a Work Bestie isn't just nice to have it, it's
actually survival.
It's like oxygen, this personthat you can vent, you can talk
to it.
Jess (00:10):
I think the real secret to workplace well-being is having
that connection.
Claude (00:15):
Hi, I'm Cloud, and I'm Jeff.
We are corporate employees byday, entrepreneurs by night, and
work besties for life.
Jess (00:23):
Join us as we explore how work besties lift each other up,
laugh through the chaos, andthrive together in every
industry.
Work besties.
Hi, besties.
Welcome to Work BestiesPodcast.
Today we're getting into one ofour favorite topics ever: Work
Besties as support system.
Claude (00:43):
Yeah, because you know, listen, having a work bestie
isn't just nice to have it, it'sactually survival.
You need it.
Jess (00:51):
It's like oxygen.
Totally.
I think the real secret toworkplace well-being is having
that person who you can go toand just relax.
You get that little bit of yougot this.
Take that deep breath,everything's gonna be okay.
Claude (01:06):
And you know that it's not going to go anywhere, which
is the most important.
So there's this trust thing.
And you know, it's let's bereal.
Friendship, well, and also, youknow, friendship at work,
really help with your mentalhealth, your motivation, and
your sanity.
Jess (01:25):
Totally.
And we've lived it, we've beenthe ones hiding in hallways or
bathrooms whispering, what inthe world is going on here?
Yeah.
Oh my god, did you hear that?
I know.
We totally need that one personwho just totally gets it with
you.
So today we're gonna unpack whythat connection is so powerful
(01:45):
and how to build one if youdon't quite have one yet.
Claude (01:48):
Yeah, exactly.
So, first, let's start, eventhough you're the insight person
usually, but you know, I lovethis insight, Gallup.
That we always say it, Galluphas found that people who have a
best friend are actually seventimes more likely to be engaged
in their job.
And of course, best friend atwork.
Jess (02:10):
Yeah, and can you think of any other fact that really can
impact productivity, support,engagement at work?
Pizza party, maybe coffee.
Claude (02:20):
I think my caffeine helps me, but yeah, but not as
much as you can really.
Oh, thank you.
But it's it's not justengagement, right?
It's also well-being.
That's where it's not about allthe company, but how we feel
inside the company.
Because let's be real, youknow, a lot of time we might be
stressed, you know, thedeadline, there's chaos, there's
(02:41):
a lot of things going on.
Jess (02:42):
Yeah, and I think what helps with that is you don't
feel so lonely.
You feel like somebody else isthere, they are going with it.
Claude (02:48):
Yeah.
Jess (02:49):
And yes, you might have those deadlines, may have those
never-ending emails or evenmeetings, but being able to have
someone who you can take thatpause andor laugh.
Like how many times have webeen super stressed?
Do we just giggle aboutsomething?
And it helps.
Claude (03:06):
And it's like you remember when we were especially
at 6 p.m., you know, those 6p.m.
that's when the late the latenight, that's where we bought so
many things online, you know,like how Halloween costume.
Or the magic Halloween costume.
So yeah.
So they there's make a big, bigdifference.
Jess (03:24):
Yeah, and it helps you also feel like you belong,
because we know that there'sstill that loneliness epidemic
that's out there, and that doesnot just mean for kids in
school, it does also relate tothose in the workforce.
So having a work bestie helpsprovide that emotional
connection, that psychpsychological safety net.
Claude (03:45):
And it literally helps your brain relax.
Exactly.
It's like an emotional harm,right?
And I have to say also it'ssomething where you know that
the person is going in the same,going through the same thing.
Right, right.
You can say your significantother, you know, they they don't
know what we're going throughat work.
(04:05):
So to have this person that youmanage, you can talk to is
really incredible.
Jess (04:11):
Right.
A way to state it and how we'vesaid it before is um having
connections in all walks of lifeis super helpful, but having
the person who really is livingand breathing the same examples,
it really helps or create thatbond in a more unique way.
So that really truly means thatwork besties, in a way, are
kind of like your soulmatebecause they're good for your
(04:33):
soul.
They are.
Claude (04:34):
Soulmates.
So we can go into the how,right?
So, how exactly do thesefriendships support our mental
health?
Jess (04:42):
Okay, so we are gonna share with you three ways that
we see it as helping.
At least these were the topthree that we felt were the most
resounding.
Number one, venting, butventing without judgment, which
I can personally attest to isthe best part of one of the
best.
There's a lot of vent, I'vebeen able to vent to you, and
(05:03):
there's never a judging.
Claude (05:04):
And vice versa, right?
It's the same thing where andwhat I liked also, I remember
one time you were venting, and Istarted saying, Oh, you you
should do this, and you justsay, No, I just want to vent.
Remember, it's to as the otherperson that received the
venting, sometimes it's just tovent.
(05:25):
It's not to try to resolve, andit feels better.
It's like it's everything comesout from the inside.
Menting is so important, andalso to hear, no, you're not
overreacting.
Or you are, you are, which isfine.
You know, you still let them,it doesn't matter.
Jess (05:41):
I appreciate because there are times where you're like, I
think you are overreacting, areyou are you done?
Are you done?
I think you are overreacting,but I you have your space, and I
get why.
So that you're right.
Uh without judgment, butsomebody who will still hold you
kind of accountable respect onthat.
But sometimes you do just needto vent.
Claude (05:59):
It's good.
A good venting session is goodfor the soul.
Jess (06:04):
All right.
So number two, emotionalvalidation.
Explain a bit more then.
Yes, I would say this is onewhere your work bestie will kind
of set different elements thansay having a friend outside of
work.
By that we mean when we gothrough certain situations at
work, that person usually isthere with you or knows the
players, right?
So perhaps you're in a meetingand you walk out and you're
(06:28):
like, wow, that meeting wasreally awkward.
What the heck was that?
Having that person that repliedback saying, What the heck was
that?
is the emotional validationsometimes.
You need.
You don't need to vent on it.
You don't need to, you justneed someone to be like, was
that right?
Claude (06:44):
Real?
Was that did that really justhappen?
I know.
It's like being in thetwilight, the twilight zone, and
it helps you to keep fromspiraling.
So yeah.
Jess (06:58):
And then the other, the other way you think about
emotional validation too, is um,there's been times where one of
us have been in a meeting andpresented, and we've asked the
other person for feedback.
And usually the person, this isone where I do feel sometimes
getting feedback, it's always agift, but getting feedback can
be hard, especially if it's apresentation or a meeting you've
(07:20):
really prepped for, and havingthat trust in somebody who's
gonna tell you to you really,yes, it is easier to hear it
from them and having thatvalidation because again, they
know the background of you andwhat you did to prepare for it.
So yeah, totally.
Claude (07:37):
And then there's accountability.
Number three, accountability.
Number three.
So, for example, good workbestie will call you out of with
love, and something like, okay,it's 6 p.m., time to get out.
You say that you wanted toleave at 5:30, or you wanted to
leave at 6, it's 10 p.m.
(07:59):
right now, you know.
So this accountability is alsoimportant.
Jess (08:04):
Yeah, it helps giving you that reality check, but also
having that cheerleader that'sby your side.
Yeah, because it's hard, it'shard out there.
We are each other's emotionalco-worker safety nate.
And we have to figure out waysto help people from burning out.
That is one of the topics thatwe get requested the most about
is support around burnout andfeeling seen, supported at work
(08:28):
is that mental health gamechanger that will help get past
some of the burnout situations.
All right, so we just gavethree things that we feel are
gonna help the most.
Next, we thought we would givesome real life situations that
we've gone through.
You thought you were gonna kickoff with one.
Claude (08:46):
And you know, everybody knows now that between the yin
and the yang, right?
I always say we are the yin andthe yang, even at work.
So not only our personality,but at work.
So for example, Jess' strengthwas where my weakness, and vice
versa, my strength were yourweakness.
One of my weaknesses was a lotof data, right?
(09:07):
Remembering the data andeverything.
And I remember during apresentation, and there were
quite a lot of important people.
Suddenly, I had like a blankwhen someone asked me for a data
point, and I had a blank.
And you were there and youhelped me right away.
You were able to answer, and Ifelt so relieved.
(09:28):
That's no, it's true.
Jess (09:30):
I I really if it's the one I'm thinking of, I think it was
yeah, it's somebody asked likea double click into what you
were presenting, which justmeans like the slide didn't have
the exact answer, and you knewit.
I knew you knew it because youand I had practiced it, and I
believe it was somethingactually we had worked on
together, so I had the theactual Excel file.
So, yes, I helped you, but Ibelieve I even said, like,
(09:52):
Claude, you you and I were justdiscussing this.
You're the one who came to meon this.
Yeah, yeah.
Because it was true.
Yep.
Uh so I do think that's anotherthing we should put in there
too, is uh accountability, butalso uh accolades for your work
bestie helps substantiallybecause I could have taken that
time to still your thunder, butI knew all the hard work you
would put in there, and it's soimportant to have that level of
(10:13):
trust with somebody to get tothat.
Claude (10:16):
Exactly.
Jess (10:17):
Well, that's awesome.
I I did not did not think thatthat was gonna be the example
you were gonna do.
I think the example I thoughtyou were gonna do was how I
always forgot we had that oneemail that we had to send
together at the same time.
Yeah.
And I always forgot likeclockwork.
And literally it's it wasn'tthe exact same week of the
(10:39):
month.
And there was one where I thinkwe were specifically told I had
to go out at this exact timeperiod.
And you like clockwork came tome and you were like, Are you
ready to go?
And so you kept me in check, soI didn't have to know.
Claude (10:51):
And that's where I loved is I don't like there's
competition, right?
One because we were in the samerole but different brands,
yeah.
Let's say.
So it could have gone tocompetition, but on the
contrary, it was totally likehelping each other.
So could have been someonesending the email before the
(11:13):
other one to make ourselves lookgood, but we never did that.
So we actually, as a job, wewere like one, two, three, four.
And we were hit it at the sametime.
Jess (11:23):
You know, those little things they matter, they do,
right?
I think uh it would always makeus giggle too.
I know, but at the endeverybody was giggling because
they knew if they came at thesame the same moment.
Those are just a couple ofexamples.
There's so many of them.
I think that's the cool thingabout having a work bestie, is
(11:44):
it's they're always there tohelp you.
Um and vice versa.
You're always willing to leanand help them.
Exactly.
And to laugh.
Yeah.
And laugh.
Especially during the moststressful down days.
There's times where I just saysomething and you give me the
look and it just puts me in adifferent mood.
The look.
The look, the look.
There's only one.
Let's let's switch topics here.
(12:06):
We do know that not all workfriendships are smooth sailing.
Even with your work bestie,there are times that things can
get a little rocky or bumpy andwhich is normal.
Right.
Every relationship.
And sometimes what sets thatoff, you could be put in
situations where you make it acompetition.
Whenever we did that, we madeit into something funny.
(12:28):
Yeah, but I don't think we justjoking competition.
I don't remember.
Did we try something as acompetition though?
We jokingly would be like, oh,I did this first, or I had five
slides versus your six slides.
Like silly stuff.
Like we never made it into likea full-on, like oh yeah, but it
was as a joke.
But but there are some peoplethat maybe are both going for a
(12:50):
promotion or going for somethingthat you could make into a
competition.
We always felt, as work bestieswho were at the same level,
that as we're going on ourjourney, that even if we were
trying to go for something thesame, that it wasn't about
making the other person lookbad.
It was always exactly it wasalways that we lift both of each
other up.
(13:10):
So that's something that wetotally do recommend is is
really always remember theimportance of that.
Totally lifting each other.
Claude (13:17):
That is such a big one.
That should have been thenumber one, actually.
Jess (13:21):
But what a but what we did recognize though is sometimes
that person, and it isn't you,does get that new role.
And suddenly they might becomeyour boss or even a higher
level.
And that definitely puts adifferent spin on a work best in
friendship.
Claude (13:36):
Okay, and I know we all we think differently.
We little think a littledifferently.
For me, for example, if I havea friend that became my boss, I
will be very careful.
I will not joke or send likeemail, oh my god, you know, I'm
ready to kill myself.
You know, or this guy anyway.
But you know what I mean.
(13:57):
You know, I'm like, oh my god,I can't stand this guy.
Because now I'm like, they aremore like my boss, so I still
want to be professional, eventhough I think and I know I'm
sure that they know what I'mthinking, but I'm still not
going to make those funny I amso whatever as much.
Jess (14:15):
So you set healthy well, you set boundaries.
I both set healthy boundaries,they're just different styles.
Exactly.
So for you, I think in thisparticular instance is what
we're saying is you can still bebest or work besties with them.
You might just have to evolveyour friendship in different
ways.
And in both ways, we do evolvethem.
Yours is more you will stillkid around with them and
(14:37):
potentially talk about what'sgoing on personally or maybe a
little bit, no?
And I'm not going to overshare.
Yeah, exactly.
Or like overshare at all work.
Right.
Yeah.
And I think what where I shiftit is I still sometimes
overshare with my boss, who I'mvery close with, absolutely
(14:57):
adore, but I don't necessarilyvent.
I try and say, here'severything that's going on, and
we kid about stuff.
Yeah.
It's the same with me.
It's all about that level oftrust that's to your point.
Claude (15:10):
It's the same.
Like we try sometimes I willvent like crazy.
And it's again healthy, right?
Um, like someone for sometimessome people on my team vent to
me and we're not work besties.
Yeah, but I'm still, you know,very friendly, but I'm still
being careful because they'restill our superior.
Well, they're your boss,nobody's superior.
Jess (15:31):
Well, oh my god, yes.
I think you could say we'reboth valid, or we're both right.
There's no right or wrong.
The the recommendation thoughwould be for both of us is
you're going to have to thinkabout shifting your relationship
a little.
Claude (15:43):
Yeah.
There's no competition.
But I'm right.
Jess (15:46):
You were right for your personality.
All right.
Claude (15:49):
Now, how do you build your support circle?
If you don't have a work bestieor you've always been afraid of
having a work bestie andsharing, how do you get those
connections?
Well, first you listen to ourpodcast and we become your work
besties.
Jess (16:07):
Reach out to us.
We love everybody.
We'll be your work bestie.
You're all amazing.
Jokes aside, if you reallydon't have a work bestie, we
recommend start small.
Find somebody that you havesomething in common with and ask
them to grab coffee.
Yeah.
Um, maybe even lean in andoffer to help somebody on a
project.
It could be something just assimple as a compliment, too.
(16:30):
Yeah.
Hey, I saw your presentation.
That was really cool.
We pick them up with that.
Claude (16:34):
Okay, it's really showing genuine interest because
people then can feel thatyou're being authentic.
Jess (16:41):
So yes, it's showing genuine interest.
It's checking in regularly.
If you've got weekly calls andyou guys had a joke about the
last time someone entered thecall, they forgot to put their
video on and it was reallyfunny, or forgot to keep putting
themselves off mute.
Maybe check in each one and belike, I wonder if so-and-so is
gonna forget mute again.
Something silly like that, justto ensure you're consistently
(17:04):
bringing back that check-in andthat trust.
Claude (17:07):
And also say how are you doing?
Are you okay?
Yeah.
You know, that's reallycheck-in is really important
too.
Are you fine?
Jess (17:14):
It depends on how long you've worked in companies and
how the culture is in each ofthem.
But sometimes I've foundfriends just watching comments
through our team chats or Slackwhen you're in bigger meetings,
and uh somebody says somethingthat really made me giggle, and
I I don't do it through the themeeting.
I do a one-off just for them,and I've really built some
(17:35):
strong relationships based offof that.
Exactly.
And you don't have to be in thesame department to be world
besties, you know.
It's actually probably betterif you're not.
Yeah.
It works both ways.
It goes both ways.
So here's the big takeaway: friendships at work are fun. (17:47):
undefined
Just on they're foundational.
Claude (17:52):
Yeah, they help you love through all the things, chaos,
deadline, and uh officepolitics, so friendship.
Humanize your, you know, yourwork environment and what is
better than humanized throughgenuine connections.
Jess (18:10):
Exactly.
So text your work bestie or DMthem a Slacker Teams message
right now and tell them they'reyour emotional partner in crime.
Emotional partner in crime.
That's so cute.
Love it.
I mean, it's true.
You're my hype person at times,you're my sounding board,
you're my unofficial therapist,and sometimes I forget to tell
(18:33):
you how much you matter to me.
So don't forget to remind them.
Dito.
And keep tell each other memes.
We should have had that as thefourth eye line item.
We'll see you next time on WorkBestie's 2 podcast, where we'd
like to keep it real, relatable,and slightly chaotic, just like
that favorite office chatthread.
Claude (18:54):
Yeah.
And until next time, take careof yourself and your work
bestie.
Bye.
Jess (18:59):
Remember, whether you're swapping snacks in the break
room, rescuing each other fromendless.
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