The Benefits of Having Friends in the Office (Infographic) Having buddies at the office is shown to boost morale and makes everyone's work better.
By Nina Zipkin
When we spend the majority of our lives at work (47 hours a week, on average), it stands to reason that we should enjoy ourselves while we're there.
Managers would do well to encourage their employees to bond, but a recent LinkedIn study found that each generation places a different amount of importance on workplace relationships. Fifty-three percent of millennial workers are more likely to share information about their personal lives in the office, while only 23 percent of baby boomers do the same.
Related: 3 Quirky De-stress Hacks to Keep Your Team Motivated and Happy
This infographic by employee-survey platform Officevibe, embedded below, includes more interesting factoids about the importance of office friendships. For instance, 70 percent of employees think that having office friends is the "most crucial" aspect of having a fulfilling work life, and half of employees with a best work friend said they felt a "strong connection" with their company. Moreover, 74 percent of women and 58 percent of men said that camaraderie was so important that they would pass up a higher salary "if it meant not getting along" with their colleagues.
For more on how friendship in the workplace increases efficiency, quality and overall morale, check out the infographic below.
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