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Since humans are social animals, they naturally tend to bond with their peers. He does this all the more at his workplace, where he spends most of his time. But young professionals are particularly looking to develop friendships with their colleagues, according to a survey.
The figures speak for themselves: 63% of members of Generation Z say they have a best friend at work, as revealed in a recent survey from the Glassdoor website. In comparison, 51% of all employees surveyed for the purposes of this survey say they have a special relationship with one of their colleagues. Which proves that young people are more sensitive to expanding their circle of friends at the office.
For good reason, friendship can strongly contribute to happiness at work. The overwhelming majority of respondents believe that this allows them to have support in their professional life (83%), which makes working days more pleasant (79%). For 78% of them, it also helps them to be less stressed.
But becoming friends with colleagues takes time. Studies show that it takes, on average, 50 hours to develop a close relationship with peers and 200 hours to become true friends. However, employees are ready to invest their time to build great friendships where they work.
Employers often encourage their employees in this direction. Many of them organize moments of sharing conducive to bonding (afterworks, company drinks, etc.) to develop corporate culture and strengthen cohesion between teams. A phenomenon which tends to intensify at a time when many employees say they feel very isolated.
The individualization of tasks and the rise of hybrid work organizations have fueled deep unease among certain workers, especially those regularly working remotely. Nearly a third of teleworkers say they feel alone in their professional life, compared to 21% of those carrying out their professional activity from their company premises.
If the office can be a place conducive to the creation of beautiful friendship stories, the company can sometimes jeopardize the friendships it helps to blossom. Rivalries can, for example, appear if two friends are competing for the same position, or if one has better relationships with the hierarchy than the other. Of course, this is all a question of character. Professional friendships last for years without a single hitch. But the key to success lies in defusing conflicts and speaking frankly about everyone’s expectations and desires.