Do you keep in contact with ex-coworkers?

I was good friends with someone from my first job in a bank back in the 1970s. We met up regularly with our partners, who then became our husbands and both had our first child in the same week. We were close for a while after, but the friendship fizzled out. We still live in the same town and if we meet by chance will always have a chat, but it is now just friendly conversation and not a deeper relationship as friends. We no longer really have anything in common. Since then have never really had a friend in any job. I have been friendly to my colleagues, enjoyed office jokes and office banter, but only really had a deep friendship with one other person at work. Now retired, the staff from my previous job meet up every 6 to 8 weeks for a pub meal and a natter, but I don't often go, it depends which pub as some are easier to get to than others. Some of them are retired like me and we listen with disbelief to the stories of how bad work is now and thank our lucky stars we don't have to put up with it anymore. I would say out of 12 to 15 people who meet up, I would go out of my way to meet just one. She is a friend, the others are just colleagues. I wish them all well but it would not bother me if I never saw them again

I was one of several who all took early retirement over a few years and we decided to keep in touch. Now 15 years later we still meet up for a meal and natter about 4 times a year. We also have a Whatsapp group, so we know what we are all up to.

There are lots of reasons why people hope to keep in touch, but don't. It takes effort on both sides to remain in contact and a degree of acceptance that the friendship won't be on the same basis as work colleagues . The bigger the time lapse, the harder it may be to reconnect. I once sent short note to an ex colleague who had left the workplace some years previously, and got no response, until out of the blue, I heard back recently , 5 years after I sent my original note. We had both been busy doing other stuff in the intervening years but I'm looking forward to meeting up for a catch up. I don't suppose this will be a frequent recurring event, but was a nice surprise to know the person still remembered my note.

Two of my colleagues with whom I kept in touch have now died, but I stay in touch with two others.
We all taught modern languages in a big secondary school, old-school rigorous.

Lots of them, mainly on Facebook, because some of them are still working or they married locals in other countries. One I see more of than any other but that's because it's my daughter.

Yes, a few. One I worked with over 40 years ago but we live in different parts of the country so only meet up about once a year but still have a good laugh together and have lots to talk about.

Had little in common with most although we all got along working together, so I don't see the point in meeting up again.

Only really with two of them - all retired at least 8-10 years now. Every 2-3 months we meet up for a pub lunch.

I am friends with some ex colleagues on Facebook and meet up with some for a nice lunch three times a year.People are so busy these days you can’t really stay in touch with everybody.

I am still in touch with two of my former colleagues, none of the others have bothered to respond to my efforts to keep in touch.

This is apparently a feature of modern life - if you move away, retire or change job those you used to know seem to assume that there will no longer be anything you can talk about.

Friends don't "stick around" any longer - they "move on with their life" and now that no longer includes keeping in touch with former colleagues, friends, your only remaining aunt etc.

It costs less, emotionally speaking, just to be thankful for the few that remain, rather than be upset about those who no longer care to know us, although, I will admit, it cost me an effort to accept this feature of modern life.

Mixed bag here..yes to some, no to others. I'm the same though, I do think about people but don't always do anything about it lol

I see people I worked with but that is because we live in the same village and meet through different activities. Occasionally I meet ex colleagues at leaving do s, but most people have gone now.

Yes, quite a few

I go out to lunch with a group of ex co-workers at least every 2-3 months sometimes more. I also meet up with different groups of co-workers less frequently and some on a one to one basis. I've been retired for 6 years I think I would miss them if we didn't.

I’ve just had lunch with my old work colleague of 56 years ago.
We met in an office in London, she was 15 and I was 17.
We get together once a year and more if we can.

It’s so lovely to catch up with her.

Yes, my best friend is someone who joined the organisation I worked for 20 years ago. When the government caused the organisation to be disbanded in 2011, we stayed in touch and planned to retire to the coast together.
My friend had now moved to the east coast and I've decided not to, but it's cheap enough for me to have a few days closer to her home every month, so I still get to see her and enjoy being at the coast but without having to endure all the horrible holidaymakers throughout the whole summer, I only have to share beach space with them for a few days at a time, and I really enjoy being able to see my friend.

There’s a group of 5 of us who meet up. When I was the last one still working there I organised meals out and we have carried on from there. We were all at one of us’s 80th birthday last week and in October another is hosting us at their house in France. I have another younger friend from the same workplace, not part of this group, who I regularly go on holiday with. I feel lucky but initially someone has to take the initiative and make the effort.

No because we were colleagues not friends

Yes, I do, the ones I want to anyway, there are plenty that I wouldn't

10 of us used to teach together until our #school closed in 2000 so we went our separate ways but we try to meet up for lunch about three times a year. Grandchildren and holidays get in the way as we are all retired now but we do our best!

I've been lucky enough to have two super friends from work, we all worked in separate organisations, I was subcontracted, another was head of her department and the other was a team manager in another company. We gather for a girly weekend every quarter and it is such fun... We take it in turn to host in fact it's my turn to host in two weeks time. It's a lovely feeling to look forward to a great weekend with friends

I think it depends on what your working environment was & how close you were personally to colleagues. If it was purely a relationship based on your day to day work experience then those colleagues may not have much to share outside of work if you didn’t have anything else in common. Some friendships at work are just part of the work environment & do not translate to elsewhere. Personal friendships based on interests in common which are not work related should survive if both parties want it to but it takes effort if you didn’t originally socialise outside of work. 2 years is not a long time to work somewhere unless there were personal reasons for forming a close friendship with maybe one or two individuals. You are effectively an outsider to their work team now without shared day to day experiences. Time now to look for other networks to enjoy building up new relationships.

There are 4 former colleagues who I meet up with 2 or 3 times a year, as a group. We all lead quite busy lives, with lots going on so that it’s quite difficult to meet more often, but when we do, we have plenty to catch up with.

I made some lovely friends I worked with for nearly 30 years. A group of us would often go to the theatre or have afternoon tea and now retired we meet regularly for coffee and still have a few afternoon teas. It helps if you live close to one another I think.

As was said above.... there are friends and there are workmates. Sometimes we become great friends with some outside of the workplace but often not.
What do those you felt closest to say when you have contacted them to possibly arrange a coffee or lunch meeting?

I am very close to 6 colleagues, and 3 are more like sisters. We WhatsApp regularly and meet for a meal with a few other colleagues every few weeks., there are about 10 of us. We worked together for well over 30 years and have supported each other through motherhood, illnesses, deaths and all manner of day to day problems (and happy times too!). I really can't imagine life without them, we had such a laugh at work and looking back I don't know how we got away with half the things we used to do! Happy days.