For this discussion, I will be creating a professional letter to outline two empirical
research articles discussed that were centered around the topic of friendships in the
workplace and the impact that friendship in the workplace has on productivity and
behavior. I wanted to select this specific topic as I have a keen interest in Industrial-
Organization Psychology and passion to discover how productivity in the workplace
can be enhanced. I look forward to the class' feedback on the letter below!
_______________________________________________________________________
02/21/2022
Good Evening Dr. Bryant,
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 i 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
