I hope this letter finds you well. As we continue this path of research in
regard to workplace friendship and overall job satisfaction, I have found
two studies to be of particular interest that I will share with you in the
contents of this letter.
In the first article, Zhang (2021) looks at how workplace friendships can
create interdependence among their colleagues, thus generating higher
job satisfaction. It was conducted from a sample size of 253 full-time
employees where they used self-reporting surveys using the Likert Scale
from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree. Zhang used Descriptive
statistics, correlations, and Cronbach alphas and found the greater the
interdependence of the task, the higher the workplace friendship.
In the second article Badri (2021) asked the question, “What influences
millennial workers’ affective well-being at work?” The sample size comes
from 272 millennial workers from Malaysia. The researchers who
conducted this study used a quantitative approach through self-reporting
surveys. They measured the variables of workplace friendship using the
six-items of the workplace friendship scale Nielson:et al:(2000) and
gratitude using McCullough:et al:(2002) six-item gratitude questionnaire.
These self-reporting surveys used a Likert Scale from 1- strongly disagree
to 5-strongly agree.
Badri’s (2021) results suggested that workplace friendship and gratitude
significantly influenced workers' affective well-being at work, this, in turn,
created a more positive work environment. By increasing the confidence
level of employees, the same employees were willing to become more
team-oriented with the ability to share new ideas. Employees felt like
more of an integral part of the company when they felt that they were
valued among their workplace colleagues.
These studies show that there are other contributing factors that assist in
overall job satisfaction among employees, that include the quality of
friendship and how many years they have worked together. In conclusion,
since both studies were conducted in the eastern culture. There is still
more research that needs to be conducted among the western culture to
see how cultivating friendships in the workplace can continue to influence
a positive outlook on employees’ job satisfaction.
My hope is that you found these articles helpful in your research with
workplace friendships and the impact it has on overall job satisfaction. If
you would like to discuss the research further, please feel free to contact
me through e-mail.
:
References
:
Badri, S.K.Z, Yap, W.M., Ramos, H.M. (2021). Workplace affective well-
being: gratitude and friendship in helping millennials to thrive at
work.:International Journal of Organizational Analysis.https://www-
emerald-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJOA-04-
2020-2148/full/html
:
Zhang. (2021). High commitment work systems and employee well‐being:
The roles of workplace friendship and task interdependence.:Human
Resource Management.:https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22093
