There is a person I work with who I would consider my best friend. It’s weird though because in some ways we are absolute polar opposites. I’m very liberal, atheist…hell I’m actually vehemently anti-religion. My friend is deep in the MAGA cult and incredibly devoutly religious with very “traditional” views that were probably a lot more common in the 1950s (doesn’t believe in evolution despite having a strong science background; some other views I will not mention for fear of getting in trouble with users on here).

On paper, you wouldn’t think two radically different people would get along like that. But she’s also legitimately one of the nicest people I know. She’s funny, goofy, kind, and just an all around blast to work with. When I first started working at my job, there wasn’t much in the way on conversation. People just worked hard and didn’t say much. She was the first person to really talk to me there and slowly make me feel welcomed over time. We have deep conversations sometimes and other times we just act goofy. There was a time where she didn’t have power or water for multiple days and I had her family stay with me (multiple young kids, a husband, an in-law) and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. She talks a lot and always has something to say even when I don’t, which I’ve always found helpful as someone who is socially anxious and doesn’t always have something to say. Anyway, she’s a great person despite our polar opposite life philosophies and viewpoints.

I have a coworker in his late twenties who’s been here (Germany) for about 15 years. The vast majority of my coworkers are immigrants like myself, and he’s the second longest in Germany. He’s from Syria and he’s seen horrible things, which gives him a groundedness that I appreciate. He understands what’s important and he’s not easily flapped, but he’s also hyper aware of social cues, which means that he’s great with customers, skilled with the passive aggressive contingent of coworkers, and he can explain it to the rest of us when we’re bumping against a German cultural norm.

Our cleaning lady at work has been out for recovery from an operation for the last six months, but she’s 78 and she’s not going to be able to get another job if we replace her, so my store manager doesn’t want to do that (the rest of us generally agree with her, but it still sucks). We’ve been pretty understaffed as a result and this coworker half-asses (3/4 asses?) all our tasks and finishes on time. I tend to full ass all the tasks and finish late, while the other coworkers either half ass everything and finish late or half ass some tasks and finish on time. When he and I work together, we finish on time and with everything complete.

He and I have very little overlap on paper, but he’s just a solid dude. I’m autistic and he appreciates that I say exactly what I mean, and I feel the same way about him. We both seem to have the understanding that this is the work we’ve agreed to do and there’s no point in wasting time bitching about it instead of just doing it.

Plus, he sometimes gives me a nug when his dealer gets him a new variant. I’ve never bought weed from him, nor would either of us want to mix that in with our workplace, but it’s a very welcome gesture. I’m vegan and eat a lot of middle eastern food at home, and he always seems super appreciative when I bring hummus or mujadara in (which is honestly an additional compliment).

Mine is a man on my team, he’s really nice but also robust. He cares about people and always makes time for them, but he’s no pushover.

Easily the most fun to work with is a sassy little firebrand I’ll refer to as Jane. Jane and I have much in common when it comes to politics, humor, and sensibilities. She is the type of coworker that makes a dull day fly by, and a bad day more bearable. A good listener, and full of hilarious takes. She’d be the best drinking buddy if we weren’t so similarly reclusive and antisocial.

A classroom assistant at the school i worked at. very hard-working, curious and funny guy who likes to learn things all the time, so we exchanged Chinese and English and hung out all the time for barbecue and hotpot and all that good stuff.

still friends more than a decade later even though I travel a lot; we got to meet up a few times when I visited Beijing last year and we still talk occasionally on wechat.

Every single one that doesn’t bother me.

My dad. We have slightly different work philosophies but we get along well and think alike. We can communicate with just gestures and grunts and we understand eachother perfectly well.

The office dog, because he is very cuddly

Patrick.

He was the only one on the lab tech team who realized that “core working hours are 10-13” meant you can actually come at 9 and it’s ok and did so because it worked better for him. My colleagues always bullied me for coming between 8 and 9 (him to a lesser extend). Even at 7:30 I was “the late one”. They all started between 4:30 am and 6:30 am. But the project managers actually hated that because they, as everyone outside the lab technician team, started around 9. And most techs left between 2 and 3 pm, leaving no possibility for late changes or dynamic workflow. Likewise, the technicians in the morning were unable to start working if they had questions about the work that was assigned for that day because the project managers weren’t there yet. But somehow me sticking to the core hours and my biorhythm (and later to my puke schedule when I got pregnant) made me the lazy and weird one - it was me and Patrick who were ok starting machines after incubation was done at 5 pm, do emergency tests at 4 pm, bring over vials at 6 pm. Patrick didn’t judge anyone and was the only one who liked me and supported my pregnancy while my tech colleagues wished me dead and my baby aborted, miscarried, stillborn or disabled. Fuck them.

Patrick quickly became the team lead. I am not at that company anymore but I am glad he managed to rise up that quickly. Patrick, I doubt you’re on lemmy but thanks again for covering for me and pipetting the formaldehyde. My daughter is a healthy girl and I am glad you had my back.

It’s a tie between one of my supervisors and a other guy. My supervisor is the reason I came out at work when I did, and the other coworker is very pro-trans and has defended me/gotten into fights with other coworkers when they’ve talked shit behind my back.