Young people are stressed out at work. About half, 48% of 18-to-25-year-olds and 51% of 26-to-43-year-olds say they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday, according to the American Psychological Association's 2024 Work in America survey.

There are ways to mitigate that stress — and happiness expert Jessica Weiss emphasizes one in particular: Make friends at your job. "The most important thing that you can do for happiness, happiness in life and happiness at work, is friendship," she says.

That's because regardless of what obstacle you might face when you're working, "friendship gives you the opportunity for conversation and for finding solutions to that problem," she says. Here's how to go about starting those relationships.

'Take lunch at the same place every time'

Weiss encourages trying two tactics.

"Friendships are really based on people that we see on a regular basis," she says. She suggests becoming a regular somewhere in the office. "Take lunch at the same place every time," she says as an example, or "sit in the same place in the conference room every single time." That could naturally help some conversations start to arise.

If it doesn't, try paying someone "a work-appropriate" compliment, such as "nice job on that presentation." That "will open up the door to kind of starting to have more meaningful conversation," she says. Eventually, those casual acquaintances and talks could turn into friendships.

'One friend at work will make a difference'

Some workplaces present more challenges to creating those connections.

Maybe you work at a startup with just five people, for example, and none of them seem open to that kind of relationship or you work from home. Whatever the case, "what you need to do at that point is maybe expand your sphere of work," says Weiss.

That is, "attend events, join some kind of association" within your industry. Do any sort of activity that could connect you with people in your field who could help you through challenges on the job. "Growing your work friendship network doesn't have to happen in your office, in your company or your organization," says Weiss, "but it can happen in your work world."

Ultimately, your professional social circle does not need to be a big one. "One friend at work will make the biggest difference," says Weiss.

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