As I walked down the road the other evening, I listened to a voice message from Gini, our Director of Operations. She told me all about her recent plans, before asking me how I was doing juggling work with new motherhood. We chatted back and forth for awhile and we had a wonderful, honest conversation about being a working mom–something we have in common.

It’s not very often I stop to think how rare this must be: an employee having a conversation this open and intimate with someone who, for all intents in purposes, is her superior. But at Indicius, it’s been my experience from the beginning. I get together with my coworkers at every chance we get, attended my boss’s wedding, and was even thrown a baby shower by my team. Not only do I like working with my colleagues and leaders–they’re some of my closest friends. As someone who lives far from home, they’re the closest thing I have here to family.

Work environment and colleague relationships have been the key to my success at Indicius, while at my prior jobs, they were the main reason for my dissatisfaction. For me, the influence of Argentinian culture on work environment and the definition of professionalism has made all the difference.

Can professionalism and humanity coexist?

As someone who grew up and had her first work experiences in the United States, I’ve had US work culture inculcated in me from a young age. From what I was taught, when you clock in, you leave your personal life at the door. Professional relationships are separate from personal ones; your coworkers are not your friends and certainly not your “family.” The most successful, “professional” people are those who are able to leave their emotions and needs aside and get down to business.

I definitely saw this to be true in some of my first jobs–and it’s just not my style. I do my best work when I know that I’m respected, both for my professional contributions and for who I am as a person. I’ve been able to thrive in my current position because I’m working with people whose company I enjoy, and who I know treat me like an equal–whether they’re my superior or not.

Of course, my experience isn’t representative of everyone’s. But I also know that I’m not the only one who has experienced these attitudes in the workplace and wished that there was another way; that professionalism can coexist with humanity. In my experience, it can–and it should.

How Argentinian culture shines through in the workplace

While it’s impossible to sum up the culture of an entire country, I think most can agree that there’s one word to describe the vast majority of argentinians: friendly. A stark contrast from my experience living in US cities, I immediately found it was easier to strike up conversations and make friends here than it was back home. It’s even been studied: For example, according the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Argentinians prefer to stand closer to each other when interacting–even with strangers.

Argentina is known for its warm, open, family-oriented culture and within months of arriving, I felt like I was part of the family, too. But how does this translate in the workplace?

It’s simple: we’re friends. While our work is always the priority, we always make space for our personal lives and relationships with each other in our day-to-day. We chat on our Slack channel about our days, our interests, our ups and downs. We have a weekly call unrelated to work, just to catch up with each other. We have time to bond during our in-person meet-ups. We check in with each other, because we know each other well enough to know when it’s necessary.

And this is the key to our success. We’re able to work together more effectively and actually enjoy that work because we genuinely enjoy each other’s company. If any issues arise, we’re able to be honest with each other and give open feedback, from leader to team member or even from team member to leader. And most importantly: we see each other as humans, not just employees and bosses. It’s not unprofessional. It’s professionalism coexisting with–and even being strengthened by–humanity.

My recommendations for companies who want to build a friendlier work culture

Work culture doesn’t change overnight–it takes work! But if it can help your team work better together, it’s worth the investment of time and energy. Here are my top tips for fostering a friendlier work culture at your company:

1. Make culture fit part of your hiring process- To form a work environment where people work well together, it’s important they’re on the same page when it comes to work culture. Make sure you’ve established what values are important to you as a company and hire people who value the same things.

2. Prioritize bonding time- We’ve all played our fair share of awkward ice breakers in our professional lives–that’s not the type of bonding I’m talking about. Make space for your team to bond over things they will actually enjoy–like optional social calls, meeting up for a coffee, or even playing an escape room. Not sure what your team might like to do together? Ask them!

3. Foster trust and autonomy- It’s not very friendly to make your team feel micro-managed. Instead of being constantly on top of your team and what they’re doing, focus on whether they’re meeting objectives and deadlines effectively. If not, then it’s time to have an honest conversation about what’s going on.

4. Celebrate achievements and expertise- A lot of positivity comes from celebrating each other, while allowing your team to share their expertise helps them feel respected for what they do best.

5. Horizontalize- Almost every company has some sort of hierarchy or leadership–the key is making sure nobody ever feels inferior just because they’re not in the most senior position. Foster a more horizontal work culture by allowing the team to give feedback to their leaders and having transparency into important company decisions.

Our friendly culture is apparent on our team–but also in our work with clients. If you’d like to work with a team that prioritizes your experience, reach out at indicius.com/contact. You’ll be part of the family in no time.