For many Americans, they spend the majority of their time at work. Unsurprisingly, true friendships are formed on the job and are often a source of catharsis.
According to new survey findings, work friendships are not only an added bonus, but they’re essential to many employees — so much so they’d quit if their work companion left the company.
Job Sage surveyed 1,200 US across various industries in both remote and on-site positions to analyze the state of interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
95% of respondents said having a friend at work makes them happier and the work easier. And another 92% shared that having friendships at work impact their willingness to stay with job. Additionally, 64% said they were friends with their direct manager at some point in their career and 49% have been with their managers outside of work.
Research shows that employees enjoy their jobs more when they have friends with at the workplace. In a 2017 study, researchers surveyed 168 US employees of an insurance company and found that those who reported having friends also showed signs of high productivity.
“Having coworkers also be friends might be a little more draining emotionally, but it makes us far more productive overall. Workplace friends influence performance over and above purely instrumental or pure friendship-based relationships,” the authors pointed out.
The report also examined how workers’ friendships are faring in remote environments as well. Fully remote workers shared they had 33% fewer friendships at work and 66% haven’t made any friends at all.
The full report can be found here.