Life After Work

FRIENDSHIP It's true that we do not choose our relatives or colleagues.  Without sounding overly harsh, workmates are just friends of convenience. Day in/day out, perhaps more than once a day, we sit down for coffee with those that we would not normally associate with. We attend corporate events with them, we go for lunch with them, we even support their children's fundraising drives. But, if we are totally honest, we share very few common interests and would not voluntarily pick them as potential candidates in the friendship department. There are exceptions, of course. If we are lucky, some work relationships actually blossom into something more. We begin to care for each other beyond the "hey, how was your weekend?" niceties we extend to those we bump into in the corridor, at the water cooler, or in the cafeteria lineup. Once you retire, though, you will learn quickly - and with jarring clarity - that very few of your colleagues are interested in