The creators of 'Broad City' said they had to set boundaries around being friends at work

Business Insider

3 days ago

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer spent five years working together as co-creators and costars on "Broad City." But offscreen, keeping their friendship alive meant setting some boundaries.
During an interview on the " Good Hang with Amy Poehler" podcast published on Tuesday, Jacobson and Glazer spoke about working together on their hit show and how they've maintained their friendship through the years. "Broad City" aired on Comedy Central from 2014 to 2019.
"As incredible as it was to make 'Broad City,' we would always make sure to have a little time up top to connect and catch up, even if it was just from 12 hours ago," Glazer told podcast host Amy Poehler.
Glazer likened it to an "after-school club," where they spent 45 minutes talking before they focused on their work tasks.
But unlike during their years as colleagues, spending time with each other now feels more intentional and emotionally fulfilling, she said.
"But at the time it was very much slotted in to catch up, and things would always make their way into the comedy, which is cool, but it's not the same as it being its own, just for the sake of its own beauty, you know?" Glazer said.
Moreover, staying in sync with each other's lives was essential to their work at the time, Jacobson added.
"We knew that it's so derived from us, so we had to kind of like catch up and be like, 'OK, write that down for this thing,'" Jacobson told Poehler.
As a result of spending so much time together for work, the two of them made sure to give each other space whenever possible.
"Well, we didn't, like, hang out. I think when we were doing it, we would be like 'See you on Monday,'" Jacobson said.
"We weren't like hanging out as friends during 'Broad City.' We couldn't," Glazer added.
But it wasn't as if they weren't speaking to each other on the weekends, Jacobson said: "It was just like, after 12, 14 hours of Monday through Friday, we were like, 'Let's not do dinner on Saturday.'"
Having friends at work is good for business. Studies have long shown that it can improve productivity, engagement, and employee retention.
However, the rise of remote work has threatened work friendships. With fewer in-person interactions, it has become harder for people to form stronger connections with their colleagues.
At the same time, maintaining boundaries at work can be tricky.
There are risks to bringing your whole selves to work and intertwining personal and professional relationships. In particular, saying no can feel personal when work and friendship overlap.
"Work is about getting certain things done by using your skills and your intelligence and your network, and so whatever you do there creates an aura," Hakan Ozcelik, a professor of management at the College of Business Administration at Sacramento State University, told Business Insider previously.
"And then if you are connected to that environment, that's great. You are not a lonely employee. But that doesn't mean that there are people there who love you," Ozcelik added.