{"id":12317,"date":"2020-08-03T10:22:54","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T10:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.openbusinesscouncil.org\/?p=12317"},"modified":"2022-05-04T21:37:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:37:55","slug":"work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Work Friends Makes Us More Productive According to Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea of friendship applies as much to our personal lives as it does to our professional ones. According to research collated by Coworking Specialists Instant Offices<\/a>, having friends in the workplace makes you more engaged and happier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, it is so important, 66%\u00a0of British workers say having a friend increases job satisfaction. Over half (57%) of UK employees also say that having a \u201cbest friend\u201d at work makes their job more\u00a0enjoyable, increasing their productivity and creativity.<\/p>\n

The benefits of having friends at work speak volumes, however Instant Offices navigates the fine line of being a friend and setting boundaries as a boss.<\/p>\n

Lucinda Pullinger, Global Head of HR at the Instant Group says<\/strong> \u201cAs a manager, it is important to get to know all your direct reports and show interest, care and concern for all team members equally. There are commercial as well as human reasons for this. Also, in a work environment, it can be the team members who are actually most different to you that are your most valuable, as they provide you with alternative thinking and\/or challenge which drives a better outcome. Therefore, valuing, trusting and treating all team members equally is important to enable a team to perform at its true potential.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Rise of Workplace Friendships<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems that for many employees, making work friends and becoming more familiar with their managers is already the norm. A 2020 UK study showed that\u00a076%\u00a0of employees have a positive relationship with their immediate boss, and 77% report the same with their colleagues.<\/p>\n

Benefits of Friends at Work<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Employee performance is significantly enhanced when co-workers develop a strong friendship. As a boss, there are benefits to becoming closer to your employees:<\/p>\n

\u2022Increased trust:\u00a0Knowing an employee well can translate to increased levels of trust and understanding in the workplace.<\/p>\n

\u2022Loyalty:\u00a0Strong bonds outside of work can forge an increased sense of loyalty at work.<\/p>\n

\u2022Support:\u00a0A mutual friendship makes it easier to ask for help, can increase knowledge sharing and improve confidence.<\/p>\n

\u2022Better communication:\u00a0Maintaining communication within a friendship can translate into better communication professionally too.<\/p>\n

\u2022Happiness:\u00a0Being friends and forming bonds with employees enables you to speak freely, share frustrations and successes, and generally increase feelings of happiness.<\/p>\n

10 Ways to Be the Boss and a Friend<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022Talk about the \u2018power shift\u2019:<\/strong> Be open about the changing dynamics. Don\u2019t assume the uneasiness will disappear if you ignore it, or that the change in roles will naturally balance themselves out.<\/p>\n

\u2022Be fair:<\/strong> You don\u2019t have to downplay your friendships with employees, but do be sensitive to the feelings of other staff members. Stay consistent in your treatment of everyone so that no one feels like favouritism is an issue.<\/p>\n

\u2022Get to know all your employees:<\/strong> Personal preferences shouldn\u2019t get in the way of building good relationships with all your employees. Make an effort to get to know everyone.<\/p>\n

\u2022Avoid gossip:<\/strong> Gossip between colleagues is one thing but as the boss, it\u2019s your job to avoid this completely and know when to step away or speak up.<\/p>\n

\u2022Find someone else to talk to:<\/strong> Avoid the temptation to share too much information with your work friends. Instead, find a suitable colleague to discuss relevant matters with. You can also speak to a neutral party, like a mentor who has no ties to your organisation.<\/p>\n

\u2022Be okay with not being liked:<\/strong> You\u2019re not always going to be popular and that\u2019s something you have to accept. Resolve conflict where you can but always remember that it\u2019s up to you to make the tough decisions.<\/p>\n

\u2022Don\u2019t always take yourself too seriously:<\/strong> Just because you\u2019re the boss it doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t take some downtime with your team to unwind and relax. Working with people you respect, and who respect you back, will ensure that socialising and friendships are easy to separate from working relationships.<\/p>\n

\u2022Mind your language:<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to fall into \u201cfriend mode\u201d with employees you\u2019re close to, but remember at work it\u2019s important to also command respect, so you must find a balance.<\/p>\n

\u2022Hire the right people:<\/strong> Invest in a solid recruitment strategy to find potential hires that fit your company culture. Employ people who naturally understand and can navigate the line between friend and boss without pushing the boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u2022Don\u2019t cross the line:<\/strong> Be aware that not every employee will want the same dynamic or be comfortable with a more familiar relationship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The idea of friendship applies as much to our personal lives as it does to our professional ones. According to research collated by Coworking Specialists Instant Offices, having friends in the workplace makes you more engaged and happier. In fact, it is so important, 66%\u00a0of British workers say having a friend increases job satisfaction. Over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[3585],"tags":[3468,3711,3574,3517],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWork Friends Makes Us More Productive According to Research - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The idea of friendship applies as much to our personal lives as it does to our professional ones.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Work Friends Makes Us More Productive According to Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The idea of friendship applies as much to our personal lives as it does to our professional ones.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OpenBusinessCouncil Directory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-03T10:22:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-04T21:37:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/rawpixel-684806-unsplash-1030x686.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1030\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"686\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hernaldo Turrillo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hernaldo Turrillo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hernaldo Turrillo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9610afd0759dc701187a7f622375c23\"},\"headline\":\"Work Friends Makes Us More Productive According to Research\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-03T10:22:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-04T21:37:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"business\",\"business resources\",\"digital transformation\",\"resources\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business Resources\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/work-friends-makes-us-more-productive-according-to-research\/\",\"name\":\"Work Friends Makes Us More Productive According to Research - 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