Whether you love, enjoy or simply tolerate your job, you’re probably still looking for ways to make it easier and more fun. Of course, a healthy work-life balance is essential, as is feeling appreciated and recognised for your contribution. But according to a series of polls by Gallup from the past few years, the most consistent key to job engagement and happiness is, in fact, office friendships.

“Our research has repeatedly shown a concrete link between having a best friend at work and the amount of effort employees expend in their job,” Gallup’s latest study declared. And the numbers don’t lie. Gallup found that when 60% of employees in a company have a work best friend, safety incidents decreased by 36%, customer engagement increased by 7% and profits increased by 12%. 

“Considering we now spend between 30-45 hours working a week on average – either in the office, hybrid or remotely – workplace friendships have become increasingly important for our personal and professional satisfaction and resilience,” agrees Sonya Barlow, a CEO, career coach and content creator.

“Not only is having friends at work or positive connections with colleagues good for your mental and overall wellbeing, it can also help your career,” she explains. “This can be through sharing information, learning from one another, having a confidant or building a network, which brings 80% of opportunities.”

According to Barlow, when we feel unhappy or isolated, we’re more likely to feel less productive and the quality of our work can be impacted. This only leads to a spiral of decreased satisfaction and motivation, which only brings us even closer to the brink of burnout.

“For that reason, we all need support systems,” she says. “Having workplace friendships will make it easier to navigate challenges or any difficulties you might face, from having a bad day to receiving negative feedback about something you sent to your boss.”

If the importance of having someone to chat with or offload to around the office sounds like good news, it is. Making friends in a like-minded workplace should be simple, right? Or at least easier than negotiating a pay rise or getting clear on boundaries with your boss.

However, research also shows that in every aspect of life, but particularly at work, people are lonelier than ever. According to job search platform Glassdoor, things are looking especially stark for employees at the start of their careers. Its study found that almost six in 10 employees with less than five years of work experience are lonely all or most of the time at work, while 47% of those surveyed with six to 10 years under their belts felt this way too. 34% of employees under 35 said they would like to socialise more with their colleagues, while 18% of the workers surveyed said they haven’t socialised with anyone they work with in the last year. 

So whether you’re a new joiner or a veteran around the office, there really is no better time than the present to get to know your co-workers better.

But don’t be fooled; it might take some effort. After all, true and fulfilling workplace relationships go beyond after-hours drinks and water cooler conversations, and the shift to hybrid working means less face-to-face contact to help us hit things off.

“Fostering a workplace friendship is similar to nurturing a childhood or school friendship,” explains Barlow. “The first thing would be not to force it. Instead, try to find common interests with the people you work closely with. Sometimes just finding out that you and a colleague are fans of the same show or hobby is a good start to talking about things beyond work matters.”

However, she stresses that you must step out of your comfort zone in order to foster positive workplace relationships. What begins with small talk in the lift should later progress into lunches, social gatherings and volunteering in initiatives that interest you so you can find people to connect with. 

There is, also, one more important thing to remember: boundaries. After all, as fun as a work buddy might be, no one wants to fall into the trap of overstepping the line between pals and professionals.

As Barlow advises, the key is being honest with who you are, what you want and how someone can accommodate you to make you feel wanted. “Boundaries can look like setting the scene beforehand, sharing your love language or having an automatic out-of-the-office to clear communication with people when things cross the line,” she says.

Ultimately, to maintain genuine workplace friendships, Barlow believes that you must align values and interests, especially if you want to keep those friendships when moving to a new role or another company.

“True friendships are built on more just social, casual hangouts, and as you grow, you realise that it’s better to have one solid friend than 10 so-what friends because it’s also difficult maintaining these many friendships with the lack of time and increased life responsibility,” she adds. “If you can set these boundaries beforehand, managing life, work and friendships becomes easier.”

Images: Getty