Do you keep in contact with ex-coworkers?

Ive recently re-conncted with one or two co-workers from my days in Liverpool. We havn't met in person but we do email and text about once a week, Mostly we just have a laugh about old times.

One or two people I reached out to on social media didnt reply so I respected their silence and didnt try again. I also have old friends in Australia I would like to hear from but have not suceeded in finding them.

Of course some of these people may no longer be alive.

No! Never wanted to! I am still in touch with a college friend from the 70s though. 😎

I keep in touch with 5 ex work colleagues and meet up fairly regularly. Two have become very close friends over the years. I also have a very dear friend I met through our children being friends at school and even though she moved away many years ago (4 hour car drive away) we see each other and chat regularly. It takes a long time to grow an old friend some come in and out of your life and others are like family.

Yes, from 40 years ago. She was a pioneer of the Women's Lib movement and is in her 80s now - a real Germaine Greer lady. She says it as it is and is still very capable of dealing with difficult situations. Watch out Lady's about! I never take offence with her as you know she has a good heart and means well.

FoghornLeghorn

I see a group of my former staff regularly. We were a very tight and supportive working team and were friends then. I’ve been retired for six years and we still meet up regularly. In fact three of us have an annual break in a cottage on the Norfolk coast. I always considered myself so fortunate that I managed a lovely team and that we are still such good friends.

Surely you are no friends now and there is no need for the hierarchy…😜

I am still in contact with someone I met at work in 1989, I have lived in many different places UK and abroad but have always kept in touch. I have now moved back to where we first met and we met up every other week.

I meet them a coupleof times but each time we had less and less in common. The workplace moved on. However, I regularly see a couple of co workers who retired at about the same time.

Why don’t you contact them? I’m in touch with a co-worker from 1970 when I was 18 and she was 16! I made the effort though to find her on Friends Reunited. Another co-worker from 11 years ago we have always kept in touch from the get go.

The only person I'm still in touch with from work, is the person I couldn't bear as a "team mate".

One of my closest friends is somebody I worked with and a group of us who worked together meet up every so often for lunch, about eight of us, I left the workplace 20 years ago.

Yes, we both do ..

I also have 2 European friends from University, that we are in contact with and from time to time, we meet up when time permits.

Strangely for me (cos I’m a keeper when it comes to friends, still see primary school ones) I’m no longer in touch with anyone I worked with in different jobs.

Coffees and lunches for a few years after leaving a job but eventually things petered out - I do go the extra mile in trying to arrange things but even I give up eventually!

We’ve just been away for a few days with another couple that we have been friends with for 40 years. We became friends with them when the other woman and I taught together for 18 months. We treasure our relationship. However, I think it is unusual. I worked for ten years with 3 women and at my leaving party I said that we had seen each other through ‘births, marriages and deaths’ which was true. I never heard from them after that day!

Purplepixie

No, and some of them I wouldn’t want to hear from. People are lucky if they have formed a great relationship through work. It hasnt happened to me.

Reminds me that after a reorganisation, our director took all his department heads off to a training centre for a 3 day team builiding course.

I came back knowing that if I ever saw them in the street, I would cross the road or duck behind a car rather than have to waste time chatting to them, . They were probably delightful people, I just had nothing in common with any of them. Mostly our paths didn't really cross at work either, so in my 2 remaining years in that job we all peaceblay went about our work and rarely saw each other.

They probably had the same opinion of me, as I did of them.

I will retire next year from nhs....I have stayed in touch with 3 people i have worked with who have already retired ( lunches, coffee meet ups, evenings out) ....I will likely stay in touch with another 7 who still work in the nhs ....thats my lot....I never put keep in touch if I don't mean it....just put wish you well

I kept in touch with two people from one job - they came to our wedding, we went to one of theirs (the other was already married), we are godparents to one of their children. But both just dropped off the radar over 20 years ago. No idea why.

I kept in touch for a couple of years with another person from a different job. But once we'd lost that common bond of the job and the people we worked with, we'd nothing to talk about, so that petered out.

I am in contact with two people from my present job. We don't work together any more - one has now retired, and the other is doing a different role. My present role is fully working from home, so we don't cross paths at work. But we are good friends. We are in contact regularly by WhatsApp, and see each other every few months for dinner. Surprisingly, our old manager (who was a bit of a harridan whilst we worked for her) has also kept in touch with good friend 1 and me, and we have coffee together regularly.

Generally speaking, I think once the mutual "thing" you share, i.e. the job, is no longer a part of your lives, the friendships which can seem very strong at work, just aren't strong enough to continue without it.

No, and some of them I wouldn’t want to hear from. People are lucky if they have formed a great relationship through work. It hasnt happened to me.

I'm still in touch with friends/colleagues I worked with before I left England 21 years ago. I'm meeting up with 2 of them next month.
Strangely I'm not in touch with colleagues from more recent jobs, if I bump into them in supermarket we have a chat but nothing more.
I think life has changed so much in recent years, especially since covid

I am still in contact with my colleagues from the 1990's up to when I retired. I worked with such great teams, for whom I am ever grateful for.

I keep in touch with quite a few former colleagues mainly through social media, some by email and Christmas cards. Before the days of email, it would be by letter or telephone and the occasional meeting up for a meal.

I have stayed in touch with two ex colleagues from over 60 years ago because we became good friends. I have also, two years ago, met up with someone from a different job who I had not seen or heard of for over 63 years, we went away together this year and regularly meet up for coffee. Amazing we still have so much in common!

I frequently meet up with 7 colleagues (who are now my dear friends) from 60 years ago when we first started work in London. We are far flung but we meet in London or have a weekend away somewhere. I’m often the organiser but others arrange some meet ups too.
I also meet up with 6 ex colleagues from 20 years ago every other month for lunch.
There is a WhatsApp group for each which makes it easier to keep in touch

I still meet up with 10 ex colleagues every month for lunch. It takes just one person to organise it and we take it in turns.,

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.

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?