Do employees benefit by building friendships in their work environment? Studies done on this issue have established the positive influence of friendly relationships forged in a professional setting.
According to surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 by the Wildgoose and Gallup Analytics platforms, maintaining friendships at work greatly influences overall employee satisfaction, as well as increasing the sense of belonging in the company.
Friendships increase productivity
The Q 12 – 12-item engagement survey, launched by Gallup Analytics in 2022 with thousands of companies, shows that performance at work thrives on communication between employees who have formed friendly relationships. They encourage each other, exchange ideas and combine their strengths to achieve superior results.
The same finding emerges from the Wildgoose study, which surveyed 1,052 American companies in 2021. This study shows that in companies with 1,000 or more employees, 24% of workers believe that having friends at work makes them more productive. For 21% of those surveyed, creativity could also be encouraged through friendship.
Friendly ties between colleagues for better mental health
The study conducted by Wildgoose reveals that more than half of respondents (57%) said that friendship with their colleagues made their daily work more pleasant.
Maintaining friendly relationships in a professional environment would also help maintain good mental health. A quarter of the respondents in the same study would turn to colleagues for support and advice when faced with professional, personal, emotional or financial problems.
According to results compiled by Gallup Analytics, people who have close friends at work have a better mood and are also less likely to suffer from burnout than those who do not.
A positive effect on retention and the company’s image
Interesting fact for employers: 12% of people polled by Wildgoose said that they are less likely to quit their job if they have a good friend at the company.
A similar finding emerges from the Gallup Analytics study. In fact, 44% of employees who say they have a trusted friend at work would recommend their organization as a good place to work.