If you have that one colleague who always makes Mondays brighter or spends their lunch break pep talking you for an important meeting, you already know it. Work friendships are incredibly powerful. They can make the lows taste less bitter and the successes feel that much better. In fact, 70 percent of professionals say that work friendships are the most crucial element to a happy work life!
This International Friendship Day, we couldn’t miss this opportunity to put the spotlight on work friendships at Klook. Here are six friendship stories in Klookers’ own words.
Disclaimer: This article may cause an irresistible urge to reach out to your work BFF and tell them just how much you appreciate them.
Laura and Greg (London)
Laura: Greg and I started working at Klook last summer. We both work in the UK Marketing team, he takes care of all Brand Partnerships and I work on Campaigns. On his first day, he sat right next to me. Poor thing! He didn’t know that I’m Spanish and well… Let’s say that I have quite a loud voice. And I love singing (although that doesn’t mean that people love my singing), chatting and being loud. I think our friendship started when he accepted he would lose his left ear’s hearing. Since then, we have been singing and dancing partners in crime.
At our office Christmas party, I received the “Office Chatterbox” award… Which Greg clearly loved!
Milli, Carol and Soizic (Barcelona)
Milli: Soizic and I were the first two employees in the Klook Barcelona office. The rest of the team didn’t start until months later, so the two of us used to go for lunch together and chat a lot. When Carol joined the team, she became part of our lunch group too. Today, the thing we like to do most is still checking out new restaurants, enjoying a delicious meal together and having long talks about work and personal life. Thank you girls for being part of my daily life in the office and for sharing chocolates in the afternoon!
Janet and James (London)
Janet: We first met in Hong Kong during work trip. Not going to lie I was a bit weary of him at first because the only thing he wanted to eat was shepherd's pie or a pizza… in HONG KONG. We’re quite different but actually have so much in common as well. And I find out more and more how talented James is — he adds so much value to his role, our team and to Klook.
What makes our friendship special is our sense of humor, although I’m usually rolling my eyes at him. I like to think I’m the Paul Simon to his Art Garfunkel.
James: I genuinely look forward to catching up with Janet after the weekend (which does usually end up with her rolling her eyes at me). I think we just get each other and she’s not afraid to put me in my place. You spend a lot of time at work and you need someone you can trust and rely on just like you would with friendships outside of work. I’m certain that Janet and I work so well together because of our great friendship. She’s not afraid to challenge me and conversations are very open and honest which has some great end results.
Laura and Ida (Singapore & Kuala Lumpur)
Ida: We first met in Klook Singapore office last year. I was a new joiner and was sent from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for training. Laura and I are on the same team. My first impression of Laura was that she's cute, bubbly and funny. I had a feeling that we were gonna be friends because I saw me in her! We are both foodies! So we definitely love to eat good food together. Hence being in the F&B team.
We also love to travel, but haven’t gotten the chance to do it together yet due to the pandemic. Promise you I’ll book my ticket to Singapore once they announce that the borders are open!
Laura: The story of our friendship really unfolded when I traveled to Kuala Lumpur on a personal trip. We had only met twice before on work trips so I did not expect Ida to meet me on my personal trip. However, when I told her about my impromptu solo trip, Ida happily offered to show me around despite her busy work schedule. We are similar in a way that we both cherish good moments and good laughs in life. I find someone as basic and direct as me to be rare and easy to get along with. I cherish people who value honesty and compassion, and Ida is perfectly a partner-in-crime.
Lara, Bela and Ciary (Manila)
Lara: We were all part of the same theater organization in university and remained good friends after we graduated. We would go out and catch up occasionally, but we definitely have become much closer since we joined Klook. I actually recommended Bela to apply for Klook back when the Product Content team was just starting out almost three years ago!
We’ve pretty much been friends for almost a decade now and still going strong haha. We hang out outside of work. We work out together. We Facetime occasionally. And we’ve traveled together (for work and just because) and were actually planning a trip to Japan this year (before the pandemic forced us to stay grounded).
Christina and Stanley (Taipei)
Christina: We have been friends since 2012! Fun fact we're college classmates. Same class, same department, same dormitory building, same internship company, and now same work! Sometimes people mistake us for a couple. We just clicked right away when we met I guess... We like to go shopping, watch movies and party together. He is the reason why I joined Klook. So I have been stuck with this guy for eight years!
Happy International Friendship Day!
Fancy making new friends in a fast-paced office?
Posted by Klook Careers
