Especially if you are younger than most of your colleagues, and just starting out in your career. Would it be appropriate to ask the male colleagues out for work lunch, etc.?

5 comments

  1. I work in STEM in a very niche portion of it and am the only female in my office. This is where I might be weird but I never mix my work and personal life. I’m one of those people who always maps out possibilities of how things will go and therefore I don’t personally find it to be a good idea for my situation to be ‘outside friends’ with work colleagues. I do not invite them to lunch / dinner / game nights / etc. If you want to invite them, there is no harm in doing so imo. I’m there to do my job and be done with it, I’ll offer up ideas, solutions to issues, act friendly, assist them when they need it, ask about interests or hobbies but that’s about the extent of my workplace friendships.

  3. I worked for a small business once where there were only 3 employees including me and the other 2 were middle aged men. It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. The work environment was great and I ended up becoming lifelong friends with one of the men I worked with.

  4. Keep it professional – period.

    If you happen to develop a good friendship with a peer, still keep it professional. The going out to lunch thing will happen organically but don’t force it.

  5. I don’t ask people out for lunch because even if I mean it professionally, the likelihood that they take it that way is somewhere below Kelvin. But I’m also not a person that make friends at work very often.

    If you’re looking for a mentor, approach someone who has the same work ethic as you do and doesn’t treat you like “the little lady”, and ask them honestly and clearly.

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