“We’re friendly at work, but once we clock out, that’s it” ... How far should you go in staying in touch with coworkers? [What do you think?]

[Financial News] Opinions among workers were divided over whether to keep in touch or meet socially with coworkers after work. Some said they were close enough to travel with colleagues, while others said they preferred to keep the relationship strictly professional.
Recently, a post titled “Do you all keep in touch with coworkers socially, too?” appeared on NOW Talk, an anonymous online community for workers, prompting a range of views on personal relationships with coworkers.
The worker who posted said he got along well with his colleagues at work but did not contact or meet them socially after hours. “I get along with them while I’m at work, but once I leave, I don’t contact them personally at all, and I don’t have any social gatherings with them either. I wonder if I’m the odd one,” he said, asking other workers about their experiences.
Some workers said they often spent time with colleagues they had met at work outside working hours, too. One user said, “If we’re close, we keep in touch. We even travel together.” Another said, “I’m friendly with pretty much everyone. We get together for drinks, go on trips and hikes, and get along well.”
Some also shared that they had stayed close to former colleagues even after leaving a job or changing workplaces. Representative comments included, “I’m really close friends with the people from my first department cohort,” and “I’m close to people from my previous workplace, so we still keep in touch.”
Others noted, however, that they did not become close to every colleague. One user explained, “It’s not like that with everyone; there are some people I click with,” adding that they naturally became close to people with similar work styles or tastes who approached them in a friendly way.
Others felt it was better to keep talk about one’s private life to a minimum at work. On another online community, people shared experiences of regretting having confided personal matters to colleagues.
One user said, “I’ve tried talking about personal things, but I regret it later. It all ends up becoming a vulnerability,” adding, “So now I generally avoid talking about most things and stick mainly to work.”
There were also calls to maintain a certain distance from coworkers. One user said, “There’s nothing good about talking about personal things. Isn’t socializing a luxury in working life?” Another said, “A company is a company. I’m a little uncomfortable with personal contact,” explaining that contact outside work felt burdensome.

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter