Are you friendly with people at the workplace? The most critical question defines job productivity, satisfaction, and corporate profit. If your co-workers are reasonable, you will stay happy and focus on increasing productivity. According to independent sources, more than 70% of employees say that having friends is a crucial element of a happy working life. Most organizations only focus on numeric and don’t pay attention to employees. But it’s not a good approach, and it can ruin work ethics. Later, all these things have a direct impact on profitability.
Why Is It Good To Turn Colleagues Into Friends?
“A friendship at a workplace is nothing less than a mixed blessing.”
We work with certain people from the office to the warehouse and workshops daily. But most people take workers as their peers or subordinates. So, if you want to make the working experience happier, start making friends at the workplace. An independent firm conducted a recent survey in which they involved 3000 American workers. In this survey, they asked people to define their co-workers in five categories, and these were the results:
Four out of five people said they consider at least one coworker their friend. But it’s a reality that friendship forms in less time in some industries. For instance, transport, finance, and accountancy are among those fields. Besides, the real estate industry and legal professions see fewer friendships in the workplace.
How long does it take to make friends?
According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 46% of professionals think that friends make them happier at the workplace. Earlier, we mentioned that the time frame for making friends is different in various industries. Here we are stating the responses of other people.
| Within days | 21% |
| Within weeks | 30% |
| After a couple of months | 22% |
| It takes six months or more | 27% |
More than half of employees feel lonely at work. So, in this situation, workplace friendship is the best option. It has been proven that if the working environment is good, then employees feel more creative and productive throughout the day.
Benefits Of Friendliness In The Workplace
It’s a reality that friendship isn’t the only thing when we think about increasing productivity at the workplace. But certainly, it is one of those things that can boost creativity level and job satisfaction. People who have friends at the workplace think two times less about changing their job. Apart from this, here are the following other benefits of having friends.
Friends keep you motivated:
Motivation is one of the critical things you need on the job, and a friendly environment helps you remain motivated. Friendships are fun filling, exciting, and fun-filled, but sometimes they can be stressful and difficult. Working in a positive environment, you feel more engaged and focused. According to a survey:
“People with friends feel seven times more motivated and productive at the workplace.”
In simple words, having a friend means you have support to survive the hardships of the workplace. For instance, you can chat and have fun with friends in your free time.
Boost job satisfaction:
The other benefit of having friends at the workplace is boosting job satisfaction. Many companies overlook the importance of workplace satisfaction. But it’s a crucial element if you want to keep the working environment in full swing. It helps in retaining top talent, and as a result, they give their 100% to work.
“Around 50% of employees felt a strong connection due to friendship.”
So, if employees are satisfied, they produce better work and don’t leave the organization. We can say that happy employees work as brand ambassadors of the organization.
Improve work efficiency:
Having friends at the workplace promotes healthy competition. If you have good relationships, it leads to better and faster work. Apart from this, loyal people around you give honest feedback about their mistakes. However, the stress level decreases, and employees feel more excited about work. In a survey, 58% of men and 74% of women said they would refuse a position if they didn’t get a chance to get along with co-workers. It’s safe to say that friendliness increases knowledge sharing within the organization.
Friendly organizations have lower turnover:
Employee turnover and retention are one of the primary problems for many organizations. In August 2021, there were 4.3 million workers who quit their jobs. But if employees have friends at the workplace, they are less likely to switch jobs. Workplace friendship helps create a work balance and allows workers to enjoy their leisure time. So, it means workplace friendship is in more demand than ever before.
How To Make The Workplace More Friendly?
If your organization isn’t meeting the above standards of friendship, don’t worry. Here are tips to help you make the environment more friendly.
- Don’t limit the conversations up to small high-level meetings because, in this way, lower-level employees feel left out.
- You should also conduct team-level events to boost co-working in the organization. For instance, the workers can share the workplace to create a healthy and friendly environment.
- Moreover, as an organization, try to develop empathy and validate workers’ problems. In this way, people feel more special and remain loyal to the organization.
- Show respect to everyone even if the need/requirement is small, and eventually, it will help build a connection.
- Improve communication between top leadership, managers, and low-level workers. It’s the best way to resolve problems at an initial level.
- You can create a friendly environment by listening to and solving employees’ problems. For instance, if workers find it hard to keep track of income, use the best paystub generator for record-keeping. It looks like a small step but helps minimize the tensions and frustration.
Furthermore, you can arrange monthly lunches together and play office games to freshen up the mind. If you want to go over the board, allow pets and babies in the organization. Google, Facebook, and other top-tier companies present perfect examples of this habit.
Conclusion:
When people are friendly at the workplace, it increases productivity, and the workplace becomes far more enjoyable. But if you want to create a friendly environment, it will not happen overnight. It’s a constant effort and will take time to move things on the right track. However, you can use the above tips and advice to keep things in the right direction.