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Why We Need Best Friends at Work
Why We Need Best Friends at Work
JANUARY 15, 2018
Wh We Need et Friend at Work
Y ANNAMARI MANN
I'm going to poe a quetion that i among the mot controverial Gallup ha aked in
30 ear of emploee engagement reearch:
"Do ou have a et friend at work?"
When one of m Gallup colleague firt told me that the et friend item tended to
elicit the tronget repone from client, I wa urpried -- it eem like a clear-cut
quetion without much ai for deate.
While I'm not alone in thi thinking, I've learned that there are people who ee a clear
dividing line etween work and home life. The ma e friendl with their coworker,
ut the don't conider them to e friend and certainl not et friend. I've alo had
m hare of encounter with leader and manager who expect their emploee to
leave their humanne at the door. The frown at chitchat and hared lunch reak,
and the view friendhip a detrimental to productivit.
Tpicall, it' thi group of leader and manager who have the tronget reaction to
the et friend item. Their reaction are varied -- ome might chuckle or ritle at the
language, while other ma puh ack on the relevance of the item.
o, wh doe Gallup ak the et friend quetion?
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The imple anwer i performance. Our reearch ha repeatedl hown a concrete
link etween having a et friend at work and the amount of effort emploee expend
in their jo. For example, women who trongl agree the have a et friend at work
are more than twice a likel to e engaged (63%) compared with the women who a
otherwie (29%).
However, let' put the cience aide for one moment and look more holiticall at
what' happening in the workforce. We now live and work in an era where man
emploee expect their jo to e more than a pacheck. The pacheck till matter,
of coure, ut emploee eek out and ta with organization that have exceptional
workplace culture. And while there are numerou component of thee culture, the
are often characterized overall feeling of trut, elongingne and incluion.
We pend more of our waking hour at work than at home, and it' onl natural that we
want to uild connection with our team memer. We want work to feel worthwhile
and having truted confidant and upporter help foter that feeling. We go to our
work friend when we need to celerate and commierate aout our peronal and
profeional live. In the aence of that outlet, work can eem lonel and iolating. It
lack attachment. We ma like what we do, we ma get to ue our talent and
trength ever da, ut we're proal not feeling full energized or motivated to put
our whole elve into our role.
What Women a Aout Friendhip at Work -- and Wh You hould Liten
In the U.., we've een an unettling trend of people in their "prime age" leaving the
laor force. Thi development point ack to numerou factor, including a widening
kill gap and a lo of middle-cla jo. However, there i alo a cultural component
to laor force loe, epeciall when it come to a pecific group -- working mother.
Man women who have children at home have decided that a traditional jo no longer
make ene for them. It' not that the don't want to work, ut corporate policie and
tem make work impractical, if not unappealing for them. Wh pend 40-plu
hour awa from our famil ever week jut to loe the majorit of our pacheck to
childcare? Mother have to weigh the pro and con of working. ven thoe who trul
enjo their jo can find it challenging to jutif the time and acrifice required to
"make it" in man corporate culture. Thi put the onu on leader to make it eaier
for working mother to a "e" to taing in the workforce.
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Organization that want to realize the enefit of a gender-divere workforce are
eing taked with finding wa to attract and retain women at all tage of life. Their
trategie have to account for pa, promotion and performance management, ut
the mut alo account for culture including how the enale women to lead etter
live. For mot women, that include having friendhip at work. In our Women in
America: Work and Life Well-Lived report, Gallup found that two-third of women a
the ocial apect of a jo i a "major reaon" wh the work.
ut it can e difficult for women to make connection at work. Our reearch alo
reveal that women in the workforce are le likel than women out of the workforce
to e "thriving" in their ocial well-eing (38% v. 45%, repectivel). Work can
diminih a woman' ailit to live what feel like a well-rounded and purpoeful
exitence. When given a choice or if forced to make a choice, it' not urpriing that an
increaing numer of women are aing goode to the laor force.
ut Reall, What Aout Performance?
Realiticall, there are till leader who will dimi the talk aout what women want
mot in a jo and ring the converation ack to numer and performance. The
want proof that the et friend item actuall impact their ottom line.
Truth e told, Gallup wouldn't have included the item in our emploee engagement
urve if it didn't link to improved uine outcome. We've conitentl found that
for women and men having a et friend at work lead to etter performance. For
example, our emploee engagement dataae how that a mere two out of 10 U..
emploee trongl agree the have a et friend at work. Yet, moving that ratio to
ix in 10, organization could realize:
36% fewer afet incident
7% more engaged cutomer
12% higher profit
When emploee poe a deep ene of affiliation with their team memer, the
are driven to take poitive action that enefit the uine -- action the ma not
otherwie even conider if the did not have trong relationhip with their coworker.
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ecaue the ocial apect of work i o important to women, we alo conducted a
tud comparing the ehavior and attitude of women who trongl agree the have
a et friend at work with thoe who do not trongl agree. We dicovered that
women who trongl agree with the item are:
le likel to e activel looking or watching for jo opportunitie
more connected with their coworker, knowing what i expected of them and
truting their integrit and ethic
more likel to rate their own, their team' and their organization' performance more
excellentl
more likel to take rik that could lead to innovation
more likel to have a poitive experience during the da, uch a enjoing what the
do, making more progre and getting recognized for uccee
le likel to report having a negative experience during the da uch a worr,
tre and feeling tired
Having a et friend at work fuel greater performance. ut efore we go an further
and make friendhip at work the hol grail of engagement and performance, we need
to ring ome context to thi converation. Manager have to meet the aic
engagement need of their emploee efore the egin focuing on the friendhip
factor. For example, if emploee don't know what' expected of them or don't have
the opportunit to do what the do et ever da, the friendhip the do have at
work are more likel to encourage gripe eion. However, when aic engagement
need are met, friendhip can take on a powerful dnamic in which caual, friendl
anter turn into innovative dicuion aout how the team or organization can
thrive.
On oard? Good. Here' What to Do Next:
Regardle of where manager fall with their team' engagement, organization can
and hould e focuing on how the can dial into a culture of friendhip and incluion.
The et emploer recognize that people want to uild meaningful connection. And
for women pecificall, friendhip at work often help them anwer the million-dollar
quetion: "I thi jo worth it?" However, for all emploee, friendhip at work peak
to their greater well-eing, engagement and performance.
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We're not uggeting organization force their emploee to e friend. The takeawa
i not to manufacture friendhip or hit the ga on the et friend at work item. Rather,
it' to create a culture where friendhip can naturall develop and thrive. elow are
three recommendation for fotering and upporting friendhip within our
organization:
1. Promote open communication and collaoration.
Communication and collaoration are cornertone of an incluive culture, and the
provide a natural pathwa to friendhip. mploee have to elieve the can peak up
and hare without fear of eing hut down or hut out. Inviting everone into the
converation create a pchological afet net and cultivate feeling of trut and
elongingne that inherentl lend themelve to connection and friendhip.
Leader hould develop communication channel that facilitate the free flow of idea
acro the organization. The could, for example, hot a forum on their compan
intranet that invite idea on how to et reach trategic prioritie or one that ak for
idea on how to improve the cutomer experience. ver month or quarter, leader
can chooe a few idea to explore -- enuring the let the emploee who hared the
idea pla a ke role in the project and finding wa for a cro-ection of emploee
to contriute.
Leader hould alo recognize and celerate the idea that help trengthen the
organization and it uine. giving emploee and their idea viiilit, leaderhip
grant everone an opening to participate and collaorate, including thoe who work
remotel.
2. ncourage people to get to know one another.
Man emploee are involved in project that encompa more than their immediate
team memer. Cro-functional or matrixed team are the norm in an increaing
numer of organization. When people and project manager correctl et the tage,
thi tpe of tructure can lead to more opportunitie for peronal connection.
Leader have to et expectation for manager that their firt reponiilit i etting
clear role expectation and conitentl communicating with team memer. ut
once the la that groundwork, manager mut enure the are reaking down team
ilo and giving people opening to learn more aout one another.
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Leader mut alo conider how the can help emploee acro the enterprie get
to know each other. Again, the ma look at how the ue their intranet to hare
emploee or team profile. Or, the can alo imultaneoul help emploee enhance
their ocial and communit well-eing providing opportunitie for them to
participate in philanthropic event during the workda. Thee tpe of activitie can
e eneficial to local communitie and allow emploee to meet and make
connection with colleague the ma have otherwie never met.
3. Promote and participate in ocial activitie.
Culture egin with leader. The et the tone and are an example for emploee
through their action. The make it acceptale or unacceptale for emploee to
ecome friend.
Nearl ever compan I've worked for or worked with ha had ome tpe of regular
ocial activit for their emploee, e it the annual holida part or a ummer picnic.
ut I don't alwa ee leader activel championing thee event. Leader mut make
it a priorit to promote, attend and recognize compan event o emploee come to
ee ocialization a the norm. eond the larger celeration, leader mut alo let
emploee ee leader taking lunch reak together or viiting with manager and
other emploee. mall act can make ig impreion.
Women and men oth have to ee how a jo fit into the greater picture of their live,
ut perhap more o among women. Culture i peronal in man wa. It i peronal
to each organization, and it i peronal to it emploee. On the whole, women don't
want to work in organization where everone avoid ee contact and toicall pae
each other in the hall. The friendhip factor influence an organization' ailit to
attract and retain a gender-divere workforce. It alo influence their ailit to get the
mot out of their people. The et friend item i not a oft or oddall quetion, ut one
that directl impact performance. It peak to wh people work and wh the chooe
to keep working for ou.
Learn more aout how Gallup can help our organization improve performance with
a focu on engagement and incluion:
Download our Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived report to gain greater
inight into what matter mot to women in the workforce and liten to the
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accompaning weinar.
Inquire aout our emploee engagement olution and tart to uild or trengthen
our culture of engagement.
tart aking the right quetion now with Gallup Acce, our online platform that
allow ou to adminiter and manage the Q12 urve within our team or
organization.
Am Adkin contriuted to the writing of thi article.
RLA DAT: Januar 15, 2018
OURC: Gallup http://www.gallup.com/workplace/236213/wh-need-et-friend-work.apx
CONTACT: Gallup World Headquarter, 901 F treet, Wahington, D.C., 20001, U..A
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