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Everyone already seems to have their lunch people.
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Start with three things you can do today
How to make friends at a new job
Turn friendly colleagues into a few real friendships, at a pace that suits you.
A course on friendship at work. It covers how workplace friendships usually form, small repeated contact, moving from work talk to personal talk, making the first invitation, and keeping friendships healthy when disagreements or reporting lines get involved.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I get on fine with my colleagues but I have no real friends at work, and since I started this job it feels lonely. I want to build a few genuine friendships without forcing it or overstepping.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Pick two people and repeat the contact
Friendships tend to grow from repeated, easy contact rather than one big effort. Choose two colleagues you like and aim for a short real exchange with each a few times this week: a question at the kettle, joining their lunch table, a reply to something they posted in the team chat.
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Ask one follow-up question and remember it
Original example: they mention a weekend climbing trip. Instead of 'Nice', ask 'How long have you been climbing?' Next week, 'How was the climb?' shows you listened, which is how acquaintance starts to deepen.
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Make a small, specific invitation
Original example: 'I am getting coffee at 3, want to come?' or 'A few of us are trying the new noodle place on Thursday, join if you like.' Small, specific and easy to decline. If they say no, try again another week or with someone else, without reading it as rejection.
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Use the edges of remote meetings
Original example: join a video call two minutes early and ask how someone's week is going, or message a colleague to say their presentation helped and ask one question about it. Small, genuine contact builds familiarity even through a screen.
- Best for
- Work relationships
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Are you new to the job, or have you been there a while without close friends?
- Do you work on site, hybrid, or fully remote?
- What feels hardest: starting conversations, going past small talk, or making plans?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
Friendly but not friends
Plenty of chat, and no one you would call at the weekend.
You work remotely
Colleagues are faces on a screen and nothing more.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06How work friendships form
Proximity, repetition and shared experience, and why time matters.
Showing up
Choosing the lunches, chats and events that give contact a chance.
From work talk to real talk
Moving gradually from tasks to interests and life outside work.
The first invitation
Specific, small and easy for the other person to say no to.
Remote and hybrid
Building contact when you rarely share a room.
Boundaries and roles
Friendship with a manager or report, gossip, and keeping work fair.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Understand how it forms
See why repeated, low-pressure contact matters more than one big effort.
Go beyond work talk
Share and ask a little more each time, matched to the other person.
Make the first invitation
Suggest something specific in a way that is easy to accept or decline.
Ideas this course corrects
Friendships happen naturally or not at all
Most need someone to take a small first step, more than once. Waiting usually means nothing changes.
Being friendly to everyone is the same as having friends
Friendliness is broad and light. Friendship grows with a few people through more time and more personal conversation.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to make friends at a new job: what can I do today?
Pick two people and repeat the contact. Friendships tend to grow from repeated, easy contact rather than one big effort. Choose two colleagues you like and aim for a short real exchange with each a few times this week: a question at the kettle, joining their lunch table, a reply to something they posted in the team chat. Ask one follow-up question and remember it. Original example: they mention a weekend climbing trip. Instead of 'Nice', ask 'How long have you been climbing?' Next week, 'How was the climb?' shows you listened, which is how acquaintance starts to deepen. Make a small, specific invitation. Original example: 'I am getting coffee at 3, want to come?' or 'A few of us are trying the new noodle place on Thursday, join if you like.' Small, specific and easy to decline. If they say no, try again another week or with someone else, without reading it as rejection. Use the edges of remote meetings. Original example: join a video call two minutes early and ask how someone's week is going, or message a colleague to say their presentation helped and ask one question about it. Small, genuine contact builds familiarity even through a screen.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on friendship at work. It covers how workplace friendships usually form, small repeated contact, moving from work talk to personal talk, making the first invitation, and keeping friendships healthy when disagreements or reporting lines get involved. It sits under Work relationships in the Work & ambitions part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I get on fine with my colleagues but I have no real friends at work, and since I started this job it feels lonely. I want to build a few genuine friendships without forcing it or overstepping.