WE meet once or twice a year, but we call or chat daily. It starts with Liza's selfie and ends with Etelle's car selfie on her way home. And I have my selfie in between. Etelle is from Luzon, Liza is from Visayas, and I'm from Mindanao. We are each other's support group. Our bond started with work-related concerns and meetings. As years passed, a friendship developed.

I have been to different workplaces, and I always have a safety net within. They are your best critics and your biggest fans. We have a term for that, "dayeg-dayeg" group. In simpler words, we praise each other exaggeratedly. They keep you grounded. They keep you sane.

A safety net is that small circle within a big circle of friends. It's usually from different departments or different localities. You turn to them when the going gets tough. When you need to shout or cry out of exasperation, you turn to them. You go out for lunch or after-work coffee and cocktails. Right, May and Ken? And if they're from another island, you do a conference call.

For those in their 20s, it may seem like high school all over again, but with a new set of friends. Your talks focus on fashion, tv series, rom-com movies, and dating. Through the years, talk shifts to babies, careers, households, and Yaya problems.

I see this in Eden, Hazel, and Shanna. They used to be in the same building where their friendship started when all three were still single. They now hold office in three different buildings, yet, their bond has grown stronger. What used to be lunch outs now turned to dinner and coffee. They continually update each other. They are each other's best critics, and they don't hold back. They don't mince words.

These are the friends you need when everything seems grey. They would go to the extent of saying mean words to make you see things, make you get up on your feet, and make you come to a decision that would be good for you, your team, and your company. They would push you to become a better version of yourself. Sometimes, a mirror is not enough to make you see yourself.

In any workplace, having a safety net is always a good idea. Long distance, or as they say, LDR, or within the same office or locality doesn't matter. It always serves the same purpose. They boost your morale, and they make you love your work more.

And before you know it, workplace cliques turned lifelong good friends.