5 Things I Learned About My Social Interactions
5 Things I Learned About My Social Interactions
You head home after your last day of work. You said your goodbyes, “keep in touch,” and sent the obligatory goodbye email; now what? How do you keep the important social interactions going?
You spent most of your waking hours at work, interacting with the same people. Interacted with people you worked with. Once you leave or retire, people check in for the first few months to see how retirement is treating you. Then they go back to focusing on their own lives, and you lose regular contact. These friendships or relationships have been called situational.
A study by Olivet Nazarene University surveyed 3,000 full-time U.S. workers and found:
18% stay closely in touch with former coworkers
55% stay in touch “a little,” which usually means occasional texts, social media, or holiday cards
27% barely stay in touch at all.
Essentially, only about 1 in 5 people keep a meaningful connection. In other words, 80% of your work friendships end.
This happened to me, and I had to cultivate and strengthen my social network intentionally. What did I do?
I was ruthless about scheduling dinners with friends. Most of my friends aren’t retired, so booking regular dinners was key. I put it on the calendar and scheduled it. Don’t fall into the “we should get together for dinner sometime.”
I joined a golf league. I didn’t know anyone in the league, so it forced me to meet new people and get out regularly every week. The league met Tuesday mornings, so it was an awesome way to meet other retired men.
Organized tours - My wife and I had always traveled solo. We made a point to take an organized European tour and have another scheduled—just a great way to meet and socialize with people.
I volunteered to Lecture at the local university - I helped Business School students navigate interviewing, internships, and full-time opportunities. It was a great way to share my experiences, knowledge, and advice, and to interact with a variety of generations while giving back.
Spouse - Even though we have been married for over 25 years, retirement meant I was home with her more, and we had different conversations. We’ve had conversations about what we want to do going forward now that we are retired. We even have morning Disney Debriefs on Sundays where we talk about our next Disney trip and what is going on with Disney. We like Disney.
Summary: All five of these points point to intentionality. It’s a word thrown around too much, but you need to make a point of keeping your social interactions going.
What ideas or ways have you successfully used to get that much-needed socialization? Share them in the comments below.