Hanging out with coworkers after hours can be fun — and a
new survey suggests it may also benefit on-on-job performance. Fifty-seven percent of executives said that office productivity improves when coworkers are friends outside the office;
nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of employees surveyed agreed. The
survey, developed by Accountemps, the world’s first and largest
specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and
bookkeeping professionals, included responses from 150 senior
executives and 519 full- or part-time office workers.
“It makes sense that when colleagues are friends they will support each other when presented with work challenges or responsibilities. It increases team spirit in the workplace,” said Chuck
Cave, vice president and regional manager for Accountemps in
Cleveland, Ohio.
Smart Business spoke with Cave about the benefits and some
caveats to having friendships at work.
Why are friendships important at work, and why do you think it
improves productivity?
When friendships form at work — and go beyond the workplace
as well — employees feel good about going to work, because part
of their outside social life is at the workplace. This has the effect
of increasing morale, which increases productivity. Friendships
also increase retention because of the higher morale and bond to
the workplace that goes beyond just a place of employment.
It seems like this might be something that businesses need to encourage. How can managers help create an atmosphere at work where
friendships are encouraged?
While friendships happen spontaneously among people who
have an affinity toward one another, managers can encourage this
by providing more networking opportunities. Create these opportunities through brainstorming exercises, team-building events
after work, department lunches or dinners.
Are there any downsides to having friendships in an office environment?
There are a few things that managers ought to be aware of when
it comes to friendships in the office. First, office cliques could arise
from friendships. The danger in office cliques is that other people
in the department might feel left out of the friendship ‘clique’ that
has formed. This can have a negative effect on morale in a department. It is helpful if managers can watch these friendships and
make sure that friends are not excluding other people in the
department. One way that managers can deal with this is to create
teams outside of the friendships to work on projects together.
Another risk is ‘group-think’ taking over. This is when a group of
friends get together in a meeting and they are so close that they
always agree with one another. This can stifle productive brainstorming sessions since sometimes it is beneficial to have members of the group disagree and bring out opposing viewpoints.
Friends may genuinely agree with one another, or they may not want to rock the boat of their friendship by disagreeing.
What about friendships that become disruptive with too much idle
chit-chat?
Employees themselves need to realize that there is a line they
have to draw. While having conversations and fun with coworkers
is fine, there could be a point when it becomes disruptive. And the
manager needs to gently point out that this kind of conversation
needs to take place after work or during lunch. If a manager sees
that the friendships are getting in the way of work, he or she needs
to set those expectations so that the friendship — although a positive influence on morale and productivity — doesn’t cross the line
into total socializing and start to affect the workplace in a negative
way.
What about friendships that cross the line into romantic relationships?
According to a poll from Society for Human Resource
Management, 58 percent of managers feel that office romantic
relationships are completely unprofessional; and 38 percent feel
that they always end in disaster. More often than not, this kind of
relationship in an office environment has a negative impact on
morale and is generally frowned upon.
CHUCK CAVE is vice president and regional manager for Accountemps in Cleveland, Ohio.
Accountemps has more than 350 offices throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific
region, and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com. Reach Cave at (216) 621-4253 or [email protected].