Works better with a friend (Do you think so?)

[Brigitte Xu]

Works better with a friend
2006/09/11 Author:Brigitte Mood: Monday (18:04)
Rath, who leads The Gallup Organizations Workplace Research and Leadership Consulting, recently released the findings about friendships in the workplace and other areas of our lives in Vital Friends (Gallup Press, $22.95).

Many organizations, Business Blogs found, not only do not encourage employees to be friends, but discourage it. The belief of many at the top levels is that allowing employees to become too friendly with one another on the job leads to problems. In fact, nearly one-third of the 80,000 managers and leaders Gallup interviewed agreed with the statement familiarity breeds contempt.
But researchers found that while there can be problems with some workplace friendships (jealousy, cliques, scorned lovers), the positive aspects of employees being friends far outweighs the negatives.

Interestingly, when researchers were polling workers about their friendships, they decided to use the term best friend instead of just friend or close friend because it seems that the term friend has lost its exclusivity, Rath said.

As a result, some 30 percent of employees reported having a best friend at work, but these workers were seven times more likely to be engaged on the job. These employees were also significantly more likely to engage customers, get more done in less time; have fun on the job; have a safe workplace with fewer accidents; innovate and share new ideas, feel informed and know that employee opinions count; and have the opportunity to focus on their strengths each day.

Without having a best friend at work, research found, the odds of being engaged at work were one in 12.


Job productivity, satisfaction
At the same time, Rath said he was curious about having additional close friends at work, and whether that made a difference on productivity and satisfaction. The results: People with at least three close friends at work were 96 percent more likely to be extremely satisfied at work.
I think that it is important to have a best friend at work, but I think its also important that you have a couple of friends at work -- people who know something about you, about your personal life and what you like to do, Rath said. Dont expect one person to be all things to you. Look for different kinds of things from different people.

The research also found that when people were asked if they would rather have a best friend at work or a 10 percent pay raise, having a friend clearly won. Further, the pollsters also found that having closer friendships at work can increase satisfaction with a company by nearly 50 percent -- and double the chances of having a favorable perception of pay.

Still, even though most employees seem to understand the importance of friendships at work, only 20 percent dedicate time to developing such relationships. Rath said part of that may be because companies dont do enough to encourage it, such as providing meeting places or get-togethers that encourage workers to become better friends.


My boss as a buddy?
And while Rath stresses that the most positive workplace friendships are among a diverse group of workers (homogeneous groups are often less productive), becoming buddies with the boss seems to be the most difficult area for most workers. Interacting with the boss was rated, on average, as being less enjoyable than cleaning the house.
While fewer than one in five people consider the boss a friend, those who had a close friendship with a manager were 2.5 times as likely to be satisfied with their job. Rath said that top managers had a key characteristic: They got to know each person as an individual, and tailored their management to each employees preferences.

Unfortunately, only 17 percent of employees reported that their manager had made an investment in our relationship in the past three months.

As Rath pointed out in his book, we spend about 50 percent more time with our customers, co-workers and bosses than we do with our significant others, children and other relatives combined. If you want to be happier and more engaged at work, he said, consider developing a few strong friendships at the office, maybe even one with your boss.


Content Classification: Human Capital

[Ian J]

Brigitte - whilst your posts are interesting I would be grateful if you could stop linking keywords to your website. This forum isn't for advertising or self promotion and I have to keep editing your posts to delete the links.

[Lazzo]

Yeah... they are sort of interesting, rather like a temporary nudge into the Twilight Zone, even if the editing is irritating.