I hope this letter finds you exceptionally well! I hope your courses
you are instructing this semester have proven bountiful and insightful.
I was performing a literature review on workplace productivity and
recalled that you had a shared interest in exploring productivity
norms within the workplace and how productivity could be enhanced
in the professional setting. As you may recall, we attended a
recent webinar in The Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology (SIOP) chapter which hosted an interesting discussion
around friendships in the workplace. As I was performing a
literature review I came across two recent, peer-reviewed articles you
may find insightful.
In the first research article discovered, the researchers placed
significant interest in expanding on the concept of Positive
Psychology and how the current Millennial generation within the
workforce places emphasis and dfocus on confidence and
achievement drive (Badri et al., 2022). The predominant research
question outlined in this article included the betterment of the
understanding of how Millennials in the workplace could be
optimized. This research article in-particular examined a working
sample of 272 full-time working Millennials that was engaged through
snowball surveying techniques.
It should be noted that only 272 survey responses were utilized for
this research study out of 1,005 responses received (Badri et al.,
2022). The sample included 64% female and 36% male respondents
all representing the Millennial age groups between 23 to 39 years
old. This included the use of three different testing instruments to
assess responses on a Likert-based response to workplace friendship,
employee gratitude, and job well-being scale. Variables of interest
included analyzing scale responses on gratitude, friendship, workplace
performance, and well-being. Statistical methods employed included
three separate analyses which included the confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA), inter relations between variables analysis, and test for
alternative mediators.
Findings within this first study were consistent with adding additional
empirical evidence concerning the positive correlation between gratitude
and well-being in the workplace (Badri et al., 2022). More
specifically, that gratitude and well-being were resultant from the
positive benefits of developing friendships within the workplace. It
should be noted that this study outlines the lasting impact that
positive experiences and friendships can have on this sample of the
workforce. Through increased gratitude and well-being through the
development of friendships in the workplace, Millennials can increase
their confidence and happiness in the workplace leading to higher
quality output or performance.
The second article that I reviewed included an excellent analysis in
the role of workplace friendship and the impact that workplace
friendships can have within the output quality of work performed in
the professional setting. This research article stemmed from the
increased challenges observed by the researchers in identifying
competitive ways wherein to more thoroughly engage workers in the
professional setting. This research article aimed to contribute to
previous research by outlining the relationship between workplace
friendships and workplace engagement (Yan et al., 2021). In-relation
to the sampling techniques utilized, the researchers opted to engage
26 hotels and distributed 350 questionnaires to employees wherein
266 were returned and screened for validity and inclusion into the
research assessment.
Variables of study included items in workplace friendship, role
ambiguity, and work engagement. These variables were assessed on
a Likert-based scale whereby respondents provided recorded their
feelings to the statements listed. As in the first research article,
this article additionally utilized and leveraged CFA as well as three-
step regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the
hypotheses posited (Yan et al., 2021). Findings within the research
assessment were consistent with positive correlation between b
workplace friendship and workplace engagement. These findings were
consistent with demonstrating positive correlation between friendships
in the workplace and how employees become more engaged with
friendships in the workplace (Yan et al., 2021).
I hope you find these two empirical research articles as enlightening
as I have. The exploration of workplace engagement and productivity
is vital to an organization's success and equally vital to the well-
being of its employees. I look forward for the opportunity for us
to reconnect at the next webinar.
______________________________________________
References
Badri, S. Z., Yap, W. M., & Ramos, H. M. (2022). Workplace
Affective Well-Being: Gratitude and Friendship in Helping Millennials to
Thrive at Work. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 30(2),
479-498. https://DOI 10.1108/IJOA-04-2020-2148
Yan, C., Ni, J., Chien, Y., & Lo, C. (2021). Does Workplace
Friendship Promote or Hinder Hotel Employees' Work Engagement?
The Role of Role Ambiguity. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management, 46(1), 205-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.12.009
