A CEO friend of mine relentlessly kids with his subordinates. He is highly accomplished and comfortable as the leader of thousands of employees. During a recent visit to his office, I watched him shoot paper wads into people’s trash cans as we walked by, interrupt VP-level meetings with good-natured but purposeful entrances, and elicit smiles from everyone he saw.

When friendship flourishes in the workplace, the results are remarkable. According to the Gallup Organization, people who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their companies. A Columbia University study revealed that workers who do regular favors and receive some kind of benefit are more productive than those who focus strictly on their own jobs. Friendships and trust build on each other, says the study, when favors escalate over time.

I met one of my best friends, Mike Lee, during a conference in London. We hit it off immediately, and a couple years later, we hired him to run our association. Now we seek each other out for personal issues as often as professional ones. Gallup research shows that close friendships at work boost employee satisfaction by almost 50%. In our case, the percentage is much higher.

Satisfaction, engagement, enthusiasm, caring and commitment spring out of on-the-job relationships. Friends in departments that are at odds, for example, have extra incentive to reconcile. Committed employees perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the organization.

Engagement enhances service

Research also reveals that engagement improves customer service: according to a 2006 study by Gerard Seijts and Dan Crim, “...an employee’s attitude toward the job and the company had the greatest impact on loyalty and customer service than all other employee factors combined.”  Increased workplace safety improved drastically in another study of a large beverage company, where engaged employees were five times less likely than non-engaged employees to have a safety incident. By strengthening employee engagement, the company saved $1.7 million in safety costs in 2002.

How do companies actually promote friendship in order to get these kinds of results? According to Gallup, one tactic is to invest in enough tools and resources until the demands on employees match or slightly exceed production capability. This creates “positive emotional states” and fuels the self-perception that they are growing, engaged, and productive. These upbeat emotions build stores of energy that benefit the employees in many areas of work and life, especially in their social connections.

Another tactic is to network with employees inside and outside the organization, through company-sponsored charitable events, office parties, group lunches, or other activities that bring like-minded co-workers together.

Finally, successful companies encourage engagement by ensuring employees have personal development plans as well as formal performance appraisals.

Depression's link to isolation

Depression, a serious side effect of disengagement, can result after prolonged job dissatisfaction. It deepens the person’s feeling of hopelessness. Gallup found that depressed employees tend to become forgetful in difficult or high-effort situations: “Although negative emotions, such as depression, may limit cognition, positive effect may ‘loosen’ information-processing strategies.”

A friend of mine named David is a sales executive at a printing company. He works with a customer service rep (CSR), who executes contracts that he sells to his clients. David complained that the CSR suddenly turned on him, blaming him for issues that were clearly in her scope of work. She made mistakes, forgot certain processes, and seemed like a different person. When I told him about how depressed employees can lose cognitive power, he said, “That’s her. She’s definitely unengaged and depressed. She says she feels isolated, which is only getting worse because the reps and I are giving her less work. I think she’s embarrassed at getting demoted, which happened because of her problems, and it’s all just feeding on itself. She’s losing a grip on her job.” Because of her depression, she’s losing friends, too.

There are downsides to friendships in the workplace, of course. They can distract and take up valuable time when there’s work to be done. Friendships can deteriorate into jealousy and pettiness that emerge because of the close relationship, whether there’s a promotion on the line or the two are competing for the affections of a new coworker.

Many coworkers who are friends find it hard to give unbiased criticism, especially if they’re in a supervisor/subordinate relationship. Supervisors can also show favoritism to their friendly subordinates, upsetting the perception of fairness in the office. When too much personal information is shared between friends on the job, certain secrets may see public light if the colleague is promoted or the friendship sours.
 
Despite the negatives, the power of friendship is undeniable. Abraham Lincoln wrote, “The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” Since we spend most of our lives at work, why not make our jobs a better part of life, too?

For discussion….
Do you need to loosen up as a manager? (I do.)
Do you have any close friends in the workplace? Why or why not?
What do you need to change about your work personality?

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