I wanted to alert you to some recent findings concerning a topic
that interests us both, which is the relationships between friendships
at work and job satisfaction. The first article I came across has
three hypotheses with the goal of the research to examine how
supervisor integrity and ardent employee behavior is affected or even
changed by workplace friendship (Guohao et al., 2021). The article
surveyed employees from 20 different service industries in Pakistan
with a sample size of 266 (N-266). One of the variables was
affective responsibility and a 5-point Likert scale was used to
measure this variable. The second variable was employee ardent
behavior. Control variables were gender, age, education, how long
they had been working at their jobs, and how much they made.
The two-tailed analysis used was descriptive statistics and correlation,
and the findings supported supervisor integrity in behavior is
positively associated with proactive behavior by employees (r+0.315,
p<0.001) (Guohao et al., 2021). The researchers wanted to
demonstrate that having friends in the workplace can fill a social
need, bettering the workforce through friendship and attachment.
In the second article, a study researched friendships of differing
ages and how in the workplace there were positive aspects in this
regard, but there were also negative aspects such as interplay
encounters. The sample size was N=186. There were six hypotheses,
the first three one-directional and the last three bidirectional. The
dyad test used Likert scales to provide a working method for the
constructs. The variables were friendship, perceived oneness,
willingness to cooperate, role conflicts, job satisfaction, and turnover
desires (Fasbender & Drury, 2021). Control variables were age and
gender. The results showed that there were both positive and
negative correlations, including job satisfaction and turnover intentions,
but these were not attributed to a desire to cooperate and feelings
of oneness.
The papers were similar to the extent that they showed that
friendship at work can enhance the job in a social aspect and
give more meaning and depth to going to work, but at the same
time conflicts can cause jeopardy where there was once a oneness
of attitude. I am further reminded of what the Bible says, “to do
nothing out of selfish desire or to better only oneself, but to
humble yourself and value others higher than your own desires,
always looking out for the interests and needs of others”
(Philippians 2:3-4, paraphrased). I will continue to study these aspects
as they have merit in my own place of employment.
References
English Standard Version Bible (2001) Crossway. Wheaton, Il. (original
work in 1611)
Fasbender, U., & Drury, L. (2021). One plus one equals one: age-
diverse friendship and its complex relation to employees’ job
satisfaction and turnover intentions. European journal of work and
organizational b psychology, 1-14.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2021.2006637 Links to an external
site.
Guohao, L., Pervaiz, S., & Qi, H. (2021). Workplace friendship is a
blessing in the exploration of supervisor behavioral integrity, affective
commitment, and employee proactive behavior – An empirical research
from service industries of Pakistan. Psychology research and behavior
management, 14, 1447-1459. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S329905
