Yesterday was World Friendship Day. This got me thinking about why everyone needs a ‘best friend at work.’
Gallup have long included this as a question in their employee engagement survey. This question, apparently, is the one that causes the most consternation amongst execs. Why would a question like that be asked? What relevance does friendship have to work?
Gallup’s research on this is fascinating.
“The simple answer is performance. Our research has repeatedly shown a concrete link between having a best friend at work and the amount of effort employees expend in their job. For example, women who strongly agree they have a best friend at work are more than twice as likely to be engaged (63%) compared with the women who say otherwise (29%).”
Why does a best friend at work matter?
Gallup’s analysis of this shows that there are a few reasons why having a best friend contributes so strongly to engagement (and hence organisational performance).
We now live and work in an era where many employees expect their job to be more than a paycheck. The paycheck still matters, of course, but employees seek out and stay with organizations that have exceptional workplace cultures. And while there are numerous components of these cultures, they are often characterized by overall feelings of trust, belongingness and inclusion.
We spend more of our waking hours at work than at home, and it’s only natural that we want to build connections with our team members. We want work to feel worthwhile and having trusted confidants and supporters helps foster that feeling. We go to our work friends when we need to celebrate and commiserate about our personal and professional lives. In the absence of that outlet, work can seem lonely and isolating. It lacks attachments. We may like what we do, we may get to use our talents and strengths every day, but we’re probably not feeling fully energized or motivated to put our whole selves into our roles.
For women in particular, going back to work after having children means that there has to a meaningful trade off. Having a friend at work contributes to work being more than simply a transaction. This report makes for interesting reading on this topic.
How does having a best friend at work translate to performance?
Gallup has this to say:
“Our employee engagement database shows that a mere two out of 10 U.S. employees strongly agree they have a best friend at work. Yet, by moving that ratio to six in 10, organizations could realize:
36% fewer safety incidents
7% more engaged customers
12% higher profit
When employees possess a deep sense of affiliation with their team members, they are driven to take positive actions that benefit the business — actions they may not otherwise even consider if they did not have strong relationships with their coworkers.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A best friend at work isn’t about holding hands and singing kumbaya.
- It IS about creating an environment where employees feel safe and that someone has their back.
- A workplace environment that has trust and belonging and inclusiveness will always reap rewards well in excess of the effort taken to create it.
- As with most things culture related, intentionality and thought and consistency count for more than fancy programmes.
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