Friends in high places − John Cassar White

Most people spend more than a third of their lives in the workplace. When you spend so much time with the same people, you are bound to form bonds with some of them. It is good to have colleagues who support your goals and inspire you. Still, you need to distinguish between colleagues and friends in order not to feel betrayed when relationships do not work out.

Some psychologists quote Greek philosopher Aristotle to distinguish between three kinds of friendships. Aristotle’s theory is that there is only one form of genuine friendship – the friendship of virtue. This is the rarest form of friendship based on mutual appreciation of the virtues that the other party admires in us. It is admiration and appreciation of each individual’s values, and this form of friendship takes more time to build.

The more common form of friendship one experiences in the workplace is the friendship of utility. Utility is defined as “the state of being useful or beneficial”. This form of friendship exists simply because someone is useful to you in some way.

Friendships of utility often characterise business networking. This form of friendship, often referred to as transactional friendship, comes with...