Workplace Friendships - Research Paper Example

Workplace Friendships The strength of any organization or company is the quality of its workforce. While employee competence and performance are significant predictors of the achievement of the organizational goals the impact of workplace friendships on organizational culture and organizational behavior need to be analyzed. Today, one can find a noticeable shift in the organizational culture; the performance oriented organizations have now realized the significance of social interaction and relationships at workplace. The workplace relationship among employees can either be formal or informal. It is significant that employees belonging to various cultures, gender, and age maintain healthy relationships whereby the organization can benefit from their oneness and unity. Similarly, the type and nature of the relationships among supervisors to subordinates, leaders to followers, and employer to employee is a significant predictor of the organization’s growth and development. In the same way, the relationship between the employees and the clients are also significant in the workplace. One can find a one to one relationship between workplace friendships and organizational outcomes; organizations that foster meaningful and goal oriented workplace friendships are more likely to achieve their organizational goals easier than others. Workplace friendships have a positive impact on organizational outcome as these contribute toward job satisfaction, positive work attitude, performance improvement, problem solving, stress management, and the accomplishment of organizational goals within an organization. Pakeeza, Haris and Sajjad (2011) have undertaken some remarkable studies on how workplace friendships contribute towards positive organizational outcomes. The study conducted among different educational institutions clearly demonstrated that there workplace friendships have a strong and significant relationship with organizational outcome. The authors also identified that workplace friendships help the employees in problem solving and reducing stress while motivating them towards the accomplishment of the organizational goals. The relationships among members of the same organization are so complex and these can either adversely or positively affect the overall performance of the organization. People belonging to different gender, age and cultures work in an organization and they develop workplace friendships through ‘mutual commitment, trust, and shared values or interests’ (Pakeeza, Haris & Sajjad, 2011, p. 3). It is therefore imperative that effective managers possess a clear understanding of the workplace friendships operating within the organization to channelize employee behavior toward the organizational goal. Workplace friendships also play a pivotal role in such aspects as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and stability. Workplace friendships facilitate a more enjoyable working environment; derive intrinsic rewards through sharing of information and knowledge in the completion of tasks; yield co-operation; and offer timely social support to the employees in times of stress (Pakeeza, Haris and Sajjad, 2011, p. 2). As such, workplace friendships are often regarded as a potential alternative to mentoring within an organization. Co-workers are better equipped to suggest easy solutions to stress and problems. Another major advantage of workplace friendships is that it helps in the generation of new ideas and innovations that are essential for the progress of the organization. Similarly, collaborative efforts motivated by workplace friendships result in the easy completion of tasks and effective leaders can very well make use of this group dynamics to motivate the employees for achieving the organizational goals. However, the culture of an organization has a great bearing on the nature of workplace friendships. Organizational cultures that do not permit workplace friendships often fail to yield positive work attitude and productivity from the workforce. It is also worthwhile to analyze the observations made by Patricia and Daniel (1998) regarding the various phases in the development of peer friendships in the workplace. The authors interviewed 38 individuals who represented nineteen peer friendships and the findings of the study showed that there are three primary transitions in workplace friendships-“from coworker/acquaintance-to-- friend, friend-to-close friend, and close friend-to-almost best friend” (Patricia and Daniel, 1998, p. 1). The first transition occurs when the employees work together in close proximity, ‘sharing common ground, and extra-organizational socializing’. This superficial relationship enters the close friend transition when the employees share their life events and try together to solve work related problems and stresses. During the final stage the relationship becomes more intimate and less cautious and the employees start sharing each other like best friends. All these three transitions are very much important for the overall development and progress of the organization as these peer friendships ensure better productivity and job satisfaction. Workplace friendships benefit both the individuals and the organizations. While workplace friends help employees in career-building, making important decisions, finding opportunities and promotion, and promoting creativity as well as job satisfaction the organization benefits from the increased employee commitment and institutional participation to the organization (Patricia & Daniel, 1998). Workplace friendships are formed more gradual and less deliberate and are proved to be more beneficial than traditional mentoring within organizations as the latter offers more of emotional and interpersonal support to the employee in times of stress and problematic situations. It is essential to analyze how women employees build and maintain workplace friendships. Rachel (2009), in this respect, investigates the gender differences involved in the process of making workplace friendships within the organization. The researcher administered an internet based questionnaire among four hundred and forty-five respondents from New Zealand, Australia and America. The results of the study showed that men correlated workplace friendships with job satisfaction while for women the benefits of workplace friendships were in terms of social and emotional support in times of problems and stress (Rachel, 2009). However, it is evident that both men and women resort to workplace friendships for the intrinsic rewards that these social connections would offer them. Men’s friendships are more of action-oriented than person-oriented whereas friendships among women involve more self-disclosure, supportiveness and complexity (Rachel, 2009). Similarly, sharing of feelings and emotions dominate women’s friendships and they are more likely to seek emotional support from friends when they are stressed or anxious. It can thus be seen that both men and women benefit from workplace friendships in different ways. However, workplace friendship has its own disadvantages as well. One can never undermine the possibility of unwanted romance and gossip in the workplace. Similarly, “workplace friendships can lead to work place aggression and violence which can affect the overall performance and outcome of organization and can bring big losses to the organization” (Pakeeza, Haris and Sajjad, 2011, p. 3). There is also the danger of work turning out to be fun. There are many who regard workplace friendships as a distracting influence on the work environment. A study undertaken by the University of Florida claimed that even though workplace friendships increases empathy and emotion between friends it reduces their productivity and performance especially when the labor is in separate departments (Workplace friendships can distract yet provide valuable info for employees, 2010). The article makes it clear that even though workplace friendships enhance job satisfaction it has a distracting influence on work performance in an organization. Jessica Methot, who completed her doctoral dissertation in management at UF on the relationship between workplace friendships and staff productivity in an organization, argues that personal closeness often makes ‘employees become too emotional and distracted on the job’ and that “the emotional distress that went along with managing friendships in a professional setting - even though they offer some benefits - makes it more difficult for employees to focus on their work” (Workplace friendships can distract yet provide valuable info for employees, 2010). She also argues that workplace friendships cause a certain amount of exhaustion and tension to the employees. However, most of these drawbacks can be overcome through effective monitoring and mentoring within the organization. To conclude, it can be stated that workplace friendship has a positive bearing on organizational outcome as it results in job satisfaction, positive work attitude, performance improvement, problem solving, and stress management. Healthy workplace friendships based on mutual commitment, trust and shared values or interests promote group dynamics that is conducive to the accomplishment of organizational goals within an organization. Managers and leaders of organizations need to promote an organizational culture that fosters workplace friendships and positive work attitude among the employees. However, one needs to guard against the distracting influences of workplace friendships through constant monitoring and mentoring within the organization. References Patricia, M. S., & Daniel, J. C. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62(3), 273-299. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/202691835?accountid=8289 Pakeeza, Haris, M., & Sajjad, M. (2011). Workplace friendships and organizational outcomes. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(1), 667-679. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/882916081?accountid=8289 Rachel, L. M. (2009). Are women tending and befriending in the workplace? Gender differences in the relationship between workplace friendships and organizational outcomes. Sex Roles, 60(1-2), 1-13. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9513-4 Workplace friendships can distract yet provide valuable info for employees. (2010, Apr 23). US Fed News Service, Including US State News. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/472514877?accountid=8289 Read More