Hit or miss. A privileged place for socializing, the company is a microcosm in which relationships are made and broken, where lasting friendships are born, where daily topics of conversation encourage more or less strong complicity – and dissension – between colleagues. In any case, this is what the results of the new study by Ifop and Flashs for the site show Account-pro.com published this Thursday, November 16.
Conducted in October 2023 among 948 employees in the private and public sector, this survey shows that the ability to form special relationships with colleagues is of major importance for many of us. If these relationships make it possible to forget the arduousness of certain tasks, they can nevertheless give rise to jealousy, rivalries and divisions.
Angry questions
Certain topics of conversation are indeed the subject of deep disagreements and even discomfort. This is the case of that on remuneration, perceived by 68% of employees and 75% of managers as a taboo. Furthermore, the higher the age of the respondents, the more problematic the question seems to be. And this, regardless of the level of education: 51% of 18-29 year olds, 71% of 30-39 year olds and 77% of those over 60 do not like to talk about this point.
Just behind salaries, the question of romantic and sexual relationships between colleagues is considered disturbing for 52% of those questioned. Subjects relating to religion, secularism, immigration and more recently, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are also considered by almost one in two people questioned as a source of conflict. Other themes, such as racism, gender or police violence also tend to cause tensions between colleagues.
In a lighter genre, “small talks” these informal conversations that you often have (almost every day) with colleagues are also the source of friction, especially when they revolve around the coffee machine, the elevator and heating. Alongside these often sterile debates, some employees do not hesitate to fuel gossip and criticize the hierarchy and colleagues in all directions. Between six and seven employees out of ten like to discuss these subjects for better and… for worse!