I have worked a variety of different career paths and I always make good and sometimes lasting friendships at work. It is best while employed to keep cordial and helpful in your interactions with your co-workers. You have a common goal and the success of your endeavors depend on each other. Also to have a pleasant working environment it helps to keep respectful and friendly.
I will say that not always can you socialize out with co-workers and if you have a supervisory role it is best to keep the distance required for mutual respect. I was invited to a interns corporate culture retreat on Cape Cod but I declined to sleep over at the mansion rented and stayed at my own home and that preserved a certain amount of diginity of the office. I was still friendly and engaging but was able to foster team building among the interns in their own peer led environment. Making for leadership training and also rewarding hard work already achieved, this approach was key success of the team building weekend.
Interns deserve a protective environment which fosters their learning and success. This is key to the educational component of an intern's social contract with your organization, the same can be said for service learning projects.
With service learning, praise and also recognizition of their service is key. Giving awards and also luncheons and respect of their service-learning will make Americorp and Peace Service workers do more than what is required and yield excellent results.
You can be friendly and socialable without being lax and a push over in managerial regards. Find that happy medium and make corporate culture one conducive to learning, leading, and leisure when appropriate.
