Sobremesa is the time spent talking at the table after a meal is over. Mexico News Daily calls it “a cultural tradition ingrained in Mexican culture.” A guest who gets up and leaves as soon as the food is finished will seem rude.
At a business meal, the article notes, “the sobremesa can be the weightiest part.”
Carnal is a close friend who is loved like a brother. Cuate comes from the Nahuatl coatl, which meant both “serpent” and “twin.” A woman who had twins used to say that she had cuates. Today the word means a friend. Compa and valedor are other everyday words for a friend.
Mexican offices hold Christmas parties called posadas. A column in Excélsior describes these office posadas as events held “cada 365 días para dar gracias por un año más de jale” (every 365 days to give thanks for another year of work).
In 2017, a business consultant quoted by Expansión explained why such parties matter. “Al convivir con colaboradores y directivos, se pueden reforzar los lazos comunicativos” (When staff and managers spend time together, the bonds of communication can grow stronger).
On September 25, 2023, the business columnist Mauricio Candiani asked in El Financiero: “¿Invitarías a tu jefe a cenar a tu casa?” (Would you invite your boss to dinner at your home?). His answer was yes, “pero nunca forzada o conveniencieramente” (but never forced or for convenience). “Soy partidario de la socialización en casa” (I am in favor of socializing at home).
At work, he argued, it pays “construir puentes de armonía, confianza y entendimiento” (to build bridges of harmony, trust and understanding). He also drew a line: “Una cosa es gozar de un jefe cercano y otra es confundir cercanía con amistad” (It is one thing to enjoy a close boss and another to confuse closeness with friendship).
In February 2026, the job site OCC surveyed 2,930 workers in Mexico for its Termómetro Laboral. “Un 59% de los participantes indicó que sí ha generado vínculos con alguien de su espacio de trabajo” (59 percent of participants said they had formed a bond with someone at work). Of these, 29 percent had formed a close friendship. Seventy-one percent said that a friendship with the boss is possible without harm to the work.
Forty-one percent had formed no bond at work.
“Cuando llegues, o te vayas, saluda a todos” (When you arrive, or when you leave, greet everyone). This was one rule in a 2013 Chilango list on how to behave in the office.
The greeting is often physical. A 2025 Chilango column describes it: between women, a single kiss on the right cheek, and between men, a hug with a pat on the back.
Confianza means trust. It also means familiarity between people.
De confianza, a person one can rely on, or a close and intimate one.
En confianza, in private, between people who trust each other.
Agarrar confianza, to grow at ease with someone over time.
Pásale, con confianza, “come in, make yourself at home,” said to a guest.
Tomarse confianzas, to take liberties, to act with more familiarity than the relationship allows.