What is a work family? And should I have one?

So we’ve talked about how to balance your personal life and your professional life and make them work like yin and yang, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that I really started to think about one of the most important parts of making that work… my work family.

Not to get into great detail here, but I have been feeling not quite right lately. I’ve been having trouble focusing and getting my head right, beyond the usual 3pm blues. From the get go I immediately went to a couple of my closest coworkers for support.

These people not only helped me logistically but rearranging my schedule and work, but also emotionally. Just like family would.

This really got me thinking about how lucky I am to have coworkers and managers that I trust enough to share these parts of my life. Lucky not only that they are understanding as my team, but that they genuinely care about me as a person.

...and I’m not alone! 83% of U.S. employees say their work family makes them feel happier and a survey  of 1,000 full time workers ages 18-65 found that having a familial relationship with coworkers boosts productivity and feelings of well-being in the workplace.

So this week, Justine and I are talking about something I think is not being discussed nearly enough, “The Work Family”.