I have an idea of how to refine your research regarding work friendships and job
satisfaction. An article found there to be a significant relationship between the
amount of time spent outside of work with work friends and life satisfaction
(Endrejat, 2018). I would propose we expand the research of your first mentioned
article to include measuring the relationship between work friendship significance
and life satisfaction. We could perform a descriptive study to address the
question, how does work friendship significance influence life satisfaction? The
variables of interest would include life satisfaction, work friendship significance,
and job satisfaction and we would control for age and gender. A 3 question Likert
scale could be used to assess each variable given the options agree, disagree, or
neutral. Operational definitions for variables include life satisfaction as indicating I
am satisfied with my life, significant work friendships as indicating my work
friendships extend beyond work hours, and job satisfaction is indicating I am
gainfully employed. We could measure the strength of the variables using
descriptive statistical analysis to show correlational strength.
I’m getting back to you regarding your research findings on the relationship
between friendships and job satisfaction. a I can see from the empirical articles
you cited that supervisor integrity is positively associated with job productivity and
that friendships enhance the social aspects of a workplace. a I’d like to work
together with you to further study the impact that friendships have on job
satisfaction. a As the Bible says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens
another.” Proverbs 27:17 ESV (English Standard Version Bible, 2001).
I propose that we create a study that evaluates the positive impacts of
friendships on job satisfaction. a I found an additional source that concluded that
some of the positive effects are: feelings of trust, opportunities for open
communication, and mutual interests in gathering outside of the workplace
(Potgieter, Coetzee, & Ferreira, 2018). a For our study I believe we should survey
both men and women who self-identify as having friendships at their workplace. a
We could further manipulate the variables by only using participants who spend
time with these people out of work too. a This would solidify their friendship rather
than just looking at people who get along at the workplace. a Our independent
variables would be 20 men and 20 women who have developed friendships at
their workplace. Our independent variable would be the perceived positive impact
on their job satisfaction. a We would interview all of the participants and ask both
open-ended and close-ended questions to gather our data. Both the articles have
been reviewed in an elaborative manner. From the articles that you have cited, I
can see that there exists a relationship between friendship in the workplace and
job productivity. I would like to work along with you in order to extend the studies
and analyze the impact of workplace friendships on the outcomes of individuals.
The study will aim at extending the reviewed articles. The proposed study will be
experimental in nature as we will be carrying out surveys in order to discover the
real impact.
The independent variable of interest in the study would be the prevalence of
friendships in the workplace. It would be measured with the use of 5 points
Linkert scale. Our dependent variables would be the performance of individuals,
feeling of engagement, and dedication. All these variables can be measured with
the use of the self-appraisal approach. The proposed study will extend the results
of both the studies that have been reviewed. We will interview the participants in
order to collect data for analysis.I found additional resources that shed light on
the effects of friendship on individual performance, job satisfaction, as well as
engagement in the workplace. The study was conducted by taking employees
from both private and public sectors and providing them with valid questionnaires
through their email (Balaban & Özsoy, 2016). In the study, it was found out that
workplace friendship had a significant impact on dedication, absorptions, vigour,
as well as job satisfaction of the individuals. However, no significant impact was
found on the performance and work engagement of the individuals. This is an
interesting topic as relationships and friendships at work can have an impact on
job satisfaction. I have information from an article that relates to the study you
mention. In the article he authors focus was on the friendship of men and women
in the workplace. The purpose was to determine whether the friendship was
related to gender, salary, or job satisfaction (Markiewicz et al., 2000). The
research looked at whether there was a difference between the friendship of men
and women in the workplace. Personal relationships between men and women
were also a factor.The study takes a qualitative approach to the friendship, salary,
and job satisfaction as it relates to men and women in the workplace. Based on
the study friendship of women at work is more dominant than that of male
colleagues. However, men are more likely to have more interactions with their
female colleagues both at work and outside of work. Variables used in this study
include organizational position level, status tenure, age, educational background,
and job characteristics (Markiewicz et al., 2000). There were 25 individuals
interviewed in which the grounded theory analysis was used.Questionnaires were
used to determine the depth of men and women friendship at work. a
Questionnaires were used to determine men and women friendship at work as
well as job satisfaction and salary. Descriptive statistics using multivariate,
univariate analysis, regression analysis, MANOVA, and Pearson correlations were
also conducted in the research. According to the scales used for this research it
showed psychometric properties and used test/retest reliability and a coherent
factor structure.The participants in the study were voluntary and informed that
their responses would be confidential, and each participant received a copy of the
results by mail. The sample size included 89 females and 86 males from different
occupations within the workplace.This is a great research topic for us to further
address. I look forward to speaking with you to continue our research on men and
women in the workplace.
Reference
Markiewicz, D., Devine, I., & Kausilas, D. (2000). Friendships of women and men at
work: Job a a satisfaction and resource implications. Journal of Managerial
Psychology. 15(2).
Balaban, Ö., & Özsoy, E. (2016). Effects of workplace friendship on individual
outcomes. Bartın Üniversitesi İktisadi İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 7(13), 326-338.
