Can colleagues be friends

Colleagues are friends. Since without being good friends, its not possible to work efficiently in a team. They help each other in their works, have a mutual understanding among themselves, share the total workload and lastly, have an emotional bonding among each other. All these are signs of friendship only....

We may find friends from any source. Whether it is family, neighborhood, educational institution, working place, and so on. Sex, caste, religion, country of origin - none of such things can be a filtering point for forming friendship. Even ideological difference or professional competition need not be a limiting factor for friendship. We may get good friends from any group or source. This is my personal experience.

Whatever I have said does not mean we should overly be ready to form friendship with anybody and everybody. Thiruvalluvar has allotted twenty couplets for this subject.(Thirukkural - Chapters 79 and 80) Though we may be open to form friendship from any group, we should be doubly careful before converting acquaintance into friendship. 

Here it  comes the word called as "professionalism".. no doubt u can be friend with ur colleagues  but u have certain limitations related to your work area..so its  bit tough...i do agree with devi mam view..

 .. thanks for sharing

You can be friends with your colleagues but they have to know where to draw the line. Out of office is a complete different scenario from when you are in the office. 

Very sight insight. Thanks for sharing.

Of course they have to be friends otherwise its difficult for both to move forward in terms of their profession. 
Even though there are lot of politics inside, but one has to bear it. 

Of colleagues can be very good friends. They should be. Rather I would say without good friendship, they won't be able to work efficiently in a team.