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!
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 f 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.
-My Kindest Regards,
James Capps
______________________________________________
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
