The Office is Number 1 for Friendships

New research by mobile phone firm O2 has found people form more friendships in the workplace than in any other area of their lives.  The 2000 adults surveyed, revealed that the workplace created more long lasting friendships than school or university. 

Almost one in three people said they made most of their friends through work, whereas around one in four (23%) cited school and one in 10 said higher education.

Perhaps this is not so surprising when you stop to consider how many hours of the day are spent at work.  The time spent with colleagues far outstrips time spent with school or university friends, and even some members of family.  Close relationships are formed over time and, even in a professional environment, it’s hard not to forge friendships with people you work closely with 5 days a week.

Creating Positivity

Friendships in the workplace can often help create a more positive work culture; this in turn can bring about a more motivated, team lead workforce.  These attributes are very attractive for any business, so how can companies encourage friendships within the workplace?

There are a number of ways in which companies can aid in helping employees build closer friendships at work. 

Teamwork Encouraging more teamwork related tasks can help employees develop better relationships.  By working together employees gain better insight into the personality of their colleagues enabling to better understand one another.

Taking the time to socialise with other team members during the day at can also provide a valuable way to form closer workplace friendships.  It is therefore important that companies to encourage professional downtime for employees within the working day.  

Canteen / Breakout / Meeting Space Having a suitable meeting area is essential, many large commercial businesses will have a canteen or meeting space for employees to relax with a coffee and have a chat during lunch.  For a smaller company this may not always be an option, using a serviced office can be an additional benefit here as breakout space is often available to use for free, a valuable service that can help employees create better working relationships.

Recruiting

Workplace friendships are an important fact to bear in mind when recruiting new staff.  A perfect match in terms of character can often outweigh a few more years experience resulting in a more motivated and successful employee.   This is particularly true in small businesses where perhaps there are only a handful of new recruits a year and someone who does not fit in can cause major problems.   Imagine how disruptive the wrong person could be in an office space with only 10 people?

One way to discover a candidate’s suitability to the role is to ask them to undertake a form of psychometric test prior to a second interview.  Not only can this test aptitude, but it can also help with suitability to the role, and how well the individual would fit in with the company recruiting.