Where have all the work friends gone? The pandemic has emptied downtown buildings, and along the way, done a number on office plants, gossip, and relationships, even with people you didnât know youâd miss. By Beth Teitell Globe Staff,Updated February 23, 2021, 8:29 a.m. Email to a Friend Studies show that people who have friends at work make more loyal and engaged employees.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Work friends. Remember them? Those people you used to spend more time with than your . . . I can barely type the word . . . family? Last week, an e-mail from a colleague stabbed me in the heart. âYouâre starting to feel like an old friend from a city I used to live in,â he wrote.