Should you mix work and play? Well, not in the literal sense, but it does help to have friends at work. As an employer, you will benefit from your employees having friends within your organization. Some employers use employee referral programs to attract friends of their employees to their organizations. Here are some of the benefits of friendships at work.

Employees Support Each Other

If you are working in a particular organization, your family members will never understand what you go through at work daily. Though they may try their best to support you, a friend from work who knows exactly what you experience can make a dramatic difference. Their suggestions and guidance can be the lifeline you need in instances where you will be struggling to balance work and personal life. This can help to alleviate stress and to find the energy to keep soldiering on. As an employee, you need to invest in workplace friendships. If your employees have a support system at work, they will not think about quitting.

Work Friendships Can Provide Motivation

Did you know that sticking to your own cubicle and not interacting with others can affect your health and productivity? While work is all about being serious and keeping things moving, it is important for workers to have a dose of fun to refresh before they start chasing the next deadline. This is also essential to avoid burnout. Without lighter moments at work, the environment can get so tense and stressful, and this can lead to workers resenting the workplace, which will increase the rate of turnover.

Work Friendships Encourage Workers to be Team Players

A team where members interact with each other outside of work can achieve more. If workers become friends with their workmates, they will never see their work-life as a never-ending cycle of boredom. Instead, they will always be ready to lend a helping hand. Not to mention, a team that has happy members who are friendly towards each other is an essential part of brand desirability. It is easier for workers to help each other if they do not feel like it is a chore. This is another reason you might want to invest in employee referral programs.

Work Friendships Can Make the Job More Satisfying

When you work with your friends, you will start having a sense of belonging to the organization. Research shows that individuals with friends at work can align 27% better towards the team goals. This leads to better productivity through workers working together to combine their skills. All this contributes a lot to better job satisfaction. Good friends at work can also guide each other when dealing with challenging situations. The conversations that happen between friends can often bring solutions to nagging work situations. These discussions can prepare employees for big moments. Be it first meetings with big clients or facing the boss.

Work Friendships Can Alleviate Stress

The workplace can be quite stressful. Fortunately, when there are friends around, workers can produce a lot of ways to bring the stress down. Short walks, coffee breaks, and fun moments in play zones can help pump in the required happy hormones that help bring stress down. It is also important for workers to have a confidante at work as this enables them to share everything freely, which also alleviates the burden from within. Studies show that employees with friends at work have better heart health than those who keep to themselves.

The sense of belonging created by workplace relationships is essential for human survival. Having workplace friendships fulfills this need precisely. Having a good acquaintance at work will make everyone go to the office happy. Workplace friendships can lower the rate of employee turnover and lower costs for companies.

How Employees Can Promote Workplace Friendships

Ever wondered why there are ping pong tables and coffee zones in some offices? Besides providing workers with a place to relax, such areas also promote workplace friendships. This can help other workers to break the ice with employees who usually stay silent. There are several other things you can do to promote workplace friendships, including conducting team outings, special gatherings, and lunch/dinner meets.

According to Wildgoose, 63% of employees say friends in the workplace make work more enjoyable overall. If you are looking for a way to make your workers more loyal and trustworthy to the organization, you should find ways to promote workplace friendship. If you are interested in attracting your employees’ friends to your organization, contact Refered to find out how you can use employee referral programs.