Companies encourage productivity and success but understandably frown upon inappropriate behavior. It’s an unwritten rule but most employees frown upon close personal rapport between co-workers. This is because employers want to prevent unprofessional behavior and office friendships might (but not necessarily) lead to conflicts of interest, favoritism, and abuse of authority. That’s why making and navigating office friendships can be a bit tricky in the workplace.

Workplace friendships are very different from personal friendships and have different human dynamics to consider. However, a healthy work-life balance requires having people at the workplace whom you can trust and rely on for professional guidance and work issues. So how do you navigate the professional sphere and still make friends at the workplace? Here are some hard and fast rules to live by:

Thou shalt establish boundaries
Establish your boundaries early on. In the process of making friends, small talk and office banter is a good way to ease yourself into friend circles. However, nobody can afford to chit chat the whole day. You should be able to recognize when your social interactions turn into a distraction. Discipline yourself to get back to work after a talk by the watercooler. Or get a seat away from friends so that you have an excuse to extricate yourself from conversations and get back to work.

Thou shalt include non-friends in work projects
The easiest way to collaborate is to get to work with people who you already have a connection with. We fall into the trap of picking friends to collaborate with during work projects because you already know their strengths and what they can contribute to the project. However, make sure to include non-friends in a work project. Otherwise, you won’t be able to avoid group thinking and your ideas will be homogenous. Include your other colleagues so that you get great input and new ideas.

Thou shalt not gossip
Laughing with friends at the office make colleagues outside your circle nervous. Colleagues are concerned about hearsay and having that feeling of being excluded from conversations or not being in the know. Avoid making your colleagues feel uncomfortable by including them in conversations. If a conversation with a workplace friend is starting to turn negative, have the decency to pull back and keep the conversation on track. Another good tip is to never, ever gossip – with other friends or behind people’s back. This is a generally good life tip to live by.

Thou shalt treat everyone fairly
Listen to everybody, not just friends. This is the best way to make sure you avoid real or perceived bias. Listen when others bring up an interesting topic or share information and opinion. Make everyone feel valued by giving everybody equal attention, not just those you are closest to at work.

What are your hard and fast rules regarding office friendships? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to stay humble and hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O. The Help