Why Loving Your Co-Workers Is Almost Never A Bad Thing

President Barack Obama awarded his Vice President and “bro” Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Honor on Thursday, in an emotional move that surprised both Biden and members of the press who were present for what they thought was just another end-of-the-presidency event.
“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem,” Obama said during the ceremony. “He’s as good a man as God ever created.” As he bowed his head and listened to Biden praise him for what he achieved as President of the United States, Obama seemed to be holding back tears. The two exchanged the words “family” and “brother” time and time again. Their emotion was palpable.

The friendship — or “bromance”— between Biden and Obama is the subject of much fodder in the United States. The two were colleagues who became fast friends over the last eight years, and they had the world as their stage. From jogging together around the White House to being there for each other through extremely personal tragedies, their relationship has been both friendship goals and the stuff that the best memes are made of.

But more than their seemingly unlikely friendship, Obama and Biden are examples of how work relationships, when they’re positive at least, can benefit your personal wellbeing as well as your work output. According to the American Psychological Association, workplace friendships improve productivity and boost team morale. When employees feel supported in the work environment, they’re more likely to take risks and work hard on behalf of the team to achieve personal and team goals.

“Workplaces that convert their employees’ untenable ties into the durable bonds shared by fast friends will have cultures and communities that are alive and generative — in one word, thriving,” wrote Jessica Amortegui, in a piece for Fast Company. “As denizens of these communities, we will be doing something even more powerful than bringing our lives and souls with us to work: we will be sharing them with friends.”

And it’s not just your job that benefits for your workplace friendships — you do, too. Employees who enjoy their co-worker relationships tend to report higher life and job satisfaction.
“Healthy co-worker relationships are particularly important to our overall wellbeing,” Nick Angelis, author, speaker, and co-owner at BehaveWellness.com told Culture Trip. “Why is that? We spend so much time, but also energy at work. Although it is unhealthy to derive self worth from external factors like our jobs, workplace culture and support infiltrates other areas of our lives.”
So congrats to VP Biden on an amazing honor, and kudos to the outgoing administration on showing us how to make our workplaces emotionally healthy spaces.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.