A celebration amongst friends and coworkers sharing the joy in our practice’s success.
Finding friends at work could be the key to happiness
By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, ABO
Dec. 2, 2025
I recently read “Don’t Trust Your Gut” by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. One of the most fascinating sections used data from a project called Mappiness**, a large-scale study that used an app to randomly “ping” participants throughout the day asking how happy they were, what they were doing and who they were with. It produced over three million data points from tens of thousands of people, providing an unusually honest snapshot of real-world happiness.
What the Data Really Says About Work Happiness
One of the interesting findings was this: people who were at work with friends—not just coworkers, but people they actually considered friends—reported being significantly happier than those who were at work without friends. Very significantly!
Duh, right? When I was a young business owner, I was led to believe that it’s best to keep work and friendship separate—that professionalism and personal closeness don’t mix. But according to the data, that instinct is completely wrong. The research shows that friendship is one of the strongest predictors of happiness at work.
For those of us running optometric practices, that’s a big deal. Because when our team is happier, our patients feel it, our culture strengthens and there is plenty of research to show that happy employees produce a more profitable company*.
Why This Matters in Optometry
In an optometric business, we ask a lot from our staff. That’s hard to do in an environment where people simply “work together.” But when they enjoy each other, everything changes—communication improves, mistakes decrease and the day just feels lighter. Work feels like… well, less work.
When I think about my own team at Lakeline Vision Source, some of our best days happen when the office is buzzing with laughter. Those friendships don’t distract from the work—they fuel it.
How to Foster Friendships in an Optometric Office
This Christmas party featured a food truck.
If you want a happier, more connected team (and a happier you), here are a few ways to help friendships flourish:
1. Hire happy people.
LOL. Dr John Todd Cornett told me one time… “Just hire nice people.”
2. Encourage cross-department connection.
It’s easy for front desk, optical and tech teams to stay in their silos. Try rotating lunch pairings, “optical shadow days,” shared morning huddles where everyone interacts or even the dreaded team building exercises where people get to know each other.
One thing we do is to bring in one person from each department for our department meetings. So if we have a Front Desk meeting, we will bring one person in from the Tech dept, Optical dept, Phone Team and Insurance Team. This really helped us have more productive and positive meetings. Knowing more about each other builds compassion.
Staff member Marlin’s birthday, complete with “birthday words”.
3. Celebrate together.
Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings (we even do mock weddings at wedding showers). One thing we do routinely is something we call “Birthday Words”. We have been doing this for almost 20 years now. We hand around a piece of colored construction paper which has at the top “Staff Name is….”.
Everyone writes down a short compliment about the employee for their birthday. We then read it out loud at the office meeting. People keep their “birthday words” for years! There are drawings, songs, poems—you name it—on the card. I recommend having someone who is good at presentations read them out loud. My son, Eric Hammond, OD, does it now. He is loud and funny so it works well.
4. Create safe spaces for conversation.
Friendship grows when people feel safe being themselves. Model vulnerability as a leader—share your own wins and challenges. That openness permits others to also be open and honest. I think as a leader being strong, tough and decisive is important, but so is admitting mistakes and being vulnerable.
An afterwork gathering on the back patio.
5. Go beyond the walls.
Team dinners, volunteering together, or even a happy hour after work can go a long way toward deepening bonds. We also use an app called Telegram where we have a “Celebrations” thread where we share fun moments in our lives and celebrate each other.
My Big Takeaway on Friends at Work
The Mappiness data reminded me that intuition isn’t always a great guide when it comes to workplace happiness. You might believe that professionalism means keeping relationships at arm’s length. The data—and my experience—say otherwise.
So now I encourage friendships. Because when people genuinely like each other, they don’t just show up to work—they show up for each other. And that, more than anything else, might be the secret to a truly happy (and successful) practice.
References
*https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx, https://www.wellsteps.com/blog/2022/05/17/happy-employees-more-productive/
**https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/49376/1/Mourato_Happiness_greater_natural_2013.pdf
Read more insights from Dr. Sorrenson.
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Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas, CEO of ODs Care working with Half Helen, Director of Practice Management and Austin Administrator of Vision Source and the Professional Editor of Review of Optometric Business (ROB). To contact her: lsorrenson@gmail.com. |
