Gone are the days of employees working late into the evening to meet stressful deadlines in an attempt to climb the ladder and earn more money. In fact, the majority of people would now trade 20% of their salary just to work with close friends – a huge shift that shows just how important work-life balance has become.
As we can see from the graph below, the younger generations are more driven by making friends at work. With over 60% of Gen Z saying they need a close friend at work, compared to just over 30% for Baby Boomers, there is a clear generational divide that proves how the landscape is changing and how businesses need to change their ways in order to retain Gen Z talent.
(Image source: LinkedIn)
Although there are clear benefits to a united workforce, does this also come with risks for a business? Changes such as moving employees across departments or offering promotions could create resistance among others in their team if there is a tight-knit dynamic.
In this article, we will discuss exactly why people are valuing making friends at work so much and what businesses can do to help improve employee engagement while maintaining a professional working environment.
Why is Making Friends at Work so Important?
Having friendships at work can make a huge difference to employees, making their time at work more enjoyable and producing a more supportive environment.
A workplace which consists of light-hearted chit-chat, shared jokes, and social plans is inevitably going to create a lighter work environment for people to work in. Being surrounded by friendly colleagues and breaking up the working day with social interactions can help boost job satisfaction – a mutually beneficial outcome that benefits both the business and its employees.
When it comes to mental wellbeing at work, having friends in the workplace can go a long way. This can be a huge stress reliever as employees have trusted colleagues to turn to if they are feeling overwhelmed or isolated in their role.
Instead of risking employees feeling isolated, a friendly workplace can create a sense of belonging and leave employees looking forward to showing up to work.
However, some boundaries should be set when it comes to workplace friendships. Although having an inviting and friendly workplace is hugely desirable, creating a culture that relies purely on personal friendships can cause issues down the line. If these friendships create obvious cliques or cause favouritism among a team, this can result in a toxic environment.
Finding the perfect balance between professionalism and friendliness can take some work, but the results are bound to pay off.
5 Team Bonding Strategies Businesses Can Introduce
To help encourage a healthy level of bonding among colleagues, there are various strategies that can be used to break the ice and help facilitate working relationships…
1. Introduce colleague recognition schemes
Encouraging employees to acknowledge each other is a powerful way to bring colleagues closer together and create a stronger team dynamic. Whether somebody goes above and beyond to help a team member or just brings positive energy to the office, allowing this to be acknowledged through a colleague recognition scheme can help celebrate the people within a business. A business owner can then pick their favourite submission every month and provide the employee with a reward, such as additional holiday entitlement or a shopping voucher.
2. Encourage video calls over voice calls
For remote or hybrid working environments, it can be harder to implement team bonding strategies. Since a lot of communication happens through messages or calls, making friends at work can take longer. Fostering continuous dialogue is shown to increase engagement, so encouraging employees to utilise video calls means people can see each other when talking, creating a more human conversation that builds up a more natural connection.
3. Host regular social events
Outside of the annual Christmas party and the occasional team lunch, making an effort to host regular social events can transform the dynamic of a team. These events don’t have to wipe out an afternoon of work or cost an arm and a leg – they can be as small as Friday afternoon team catch-up calls or monthly coffee mornings. This is a good way to encourage chit-chat that doesn’t necessarily revolve around work. Although some employees may not be interested in attending social events, offering everyone the option to get to know their colleagues in a more light-hearted environment can help break the ice.
4. Create an interactive space for breaks
For on-site workers, ensuring that the workspace is designed to encourage collaboration and communication can reduce the feeling of isolation for employees. A great strategy is to design a designated break area that allows colleagues to relax in when they are not working. By turning this into an open space with seating areas, snacks, and even board games, people are going to be more open to making friends at work instead of sitting alone.
5. Encourage collaboration between departments
Building relationships among departments not only helps employees feel more connected to their colleagues, but is also beneficial from a work perspective. Making connections across departments means employees can better collaborate on projects and share their skills to gain new perspectives. A good strategy is to set up project groups every time a new project begins, initiating collaboration through an initial kick-off meeting and helping everyone familiarise themselves with the team.
How Making Friends at Work Builds Stronger Businesses
As the younger generations favour making friends at work over their salary, it is clear that the working landscape is changing. Having a better work-life balance and enjoying a healthy working environment shows that a good salary and job title are simply not enough anymore.
Businesses that prioritise team-building and inclusivity are bound to see a better employee turnover than those that fail to focus on creating a collaborative workforce. If people feel valued at work and have built genuine friendships with their colleagues, they are much more likely to collaborate well on projects and be motivated to do a good job.
Author: Heather Langley – Content Writer & Outreach Specialist, Slovid
Photo credit: Freepik
