There’s no bond quite like the one between work besties, and it can hurt to tear it apart due to major life changes, like leaving for college as shown in a recent TikTok video with two LongHorn Steakhouse co-workers.
TikTok creator @emmaaaaaaa.c7 recently posted an ode to work friends, and it’s gone viral with more than 970,000 views and almost 161,000 likes.
@emmaaaaaaa.c7 actual bestfriend #fyp #firstjob #leavingforcollege #endofanera ♬ original sound – Raihann
In the video, the creator and her friend stand in uniform in the lobby of a LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant.
“Hey how many shifts did u get next week??” the text onscreen reads, as a question from the creator’s friend, who’s standing at the host station.
“Im not gonna be here next week,” the text reads, showing the creator’s reply. There’s a heartbreak emoji at the end. The pair end the video in an embrace.
The creator captioned the video, “actual bestfriend.” The hashtags indicate it was the creator’s first job and she’s leaving for college. The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok and LongHorn Steakhouse via email.
The comment section was full of viewers tagging their own work besties. One person commented, “as much as i complain I’m gonna miss everyone sm.”
It’s natural to form friendships at work. “The average person spends 81,396 hours — the equivalent of more than nine years — at work,” the Harvard Business Review wrote last year in an article on work friendships.
According to a February article from NPR, people who feel connected to their coworkers are happier.
“Me and my bestie worked for the last time together yesterday,” another commenter wrote in response to the creator’s video.
“IVE NEVER FELT MORE LOVED THAN A BUNCH OF COWORKERS BEING SAD IM LEAVING,” someone commented.
“No bc I don’t want this day to ever come I love my work besties,” one viewer wrote.
And quitting to go to college seemed to be a particularly resonant pain.
“My last shift will be in about a week, and I’m not ready at all,” one commener said. “I know that college will be good for me, but I absolutely love where I work.”
One comment read, “I quit and retracted it cuz my co workers were sad and i was sad about leaving them.”
Another commenter added, “LongHorn bond is so real,” and it seemed like the chain steakhouse really does forge friendships.
“I made some of my life long friends working at LongHorn,” another person commented.