How important are workplace friendships?

Do you have friends at work? Few would dispute the power that a true friendship has to enrich our lives. But what role should friendship play in the workplace? Is it smarter to keep your personal and professional lives separate or to purposely seek out and cultivate friendships on the job? The answer you give may depend on your age and how you work.
There is no denying that workplace friendships can contribute to a positive work culture, including increased productivity and creativity, enhanced performance and stronger relationships. But for others, the consequence can be bad because it can make them lose focus. LinkedIn, the largest online professional network, recently carried out a survey and it shed light on how different people view workplace friendships. Nicole Williams, a LinkedIn career expert stated that: “Workplace friendships are ever changing and an important factor in shaping both the office dynamics and individual job development.”
It is almost hard not to make friends with your colleagues at work considering the amount of time people spend in their jobs, which can be due to the current economic downturn, job responsibilities or even one’s personal work style. But the question is: how many are aware of these changes? With this in mind, Lifextra sought to know what people think about this issue.
Ogunmola King, an operations manager at KTL, believes that work place friendships are important as long as they do not affect work ethics and rules. “I fear when the friendship gets intimate and emotional because it tends to affect ethics,” King stressed.
Powell Ufuoma, an 18-year-old undergraduate who is doing his internship, says: “I love workplace friendships because they give me the opportunity to know people and easily approach them when I encounter some difficulties. Besides, I am still learning because I want to be an expert in my field.”
Stressing the importance of workplace friendships, an avid reader of Lifextra, Machara Oye, a thirtyish self-employed man, stated that they can help team building. “You become more comfortable with your colleagues as you get better understanding of them and your work environment,” he stressed. “It can help to boost your self-esteem particularly when you’re a new member of staff and can afford you the opportunity to settle in faster.”
Oye noted that: “Most of your adult life is spent at work. Make it pleasurable and make it count, work with friends who would eventually become your friends for life.”
Ahmed Meto, who is in his late thirties, opines that workplace friendships are important but should be limited. “Think about those that envy you and want to take your place or position or be the boss. Irrespective of the friendships you make you have to be extra careful in terms of giving out all vital information about yourself but make the relationship work for the purpose of work progress.”
For Esther Akpan, a consultant in her early thirties, it is important to set boundaries so that friendship does not interfere with your personal life. “I have friends at work but not close friends. I set the boundaries straight when I am working, don’t disturb me. Right from when I was in school, I easily got distracted while reading for exams, so I told myself that I need to set boundaries for myself. Now that I work, and even when I do my private things like reading my Bible, I also have time for it so that nothing would distract me,” stated.
A staff of Industrial Training Fund headquarters Jos in his mid-20s who declined to be named, said work place friendships are important “because no man is an island and for you to improve your performance and productivity, you need to learn from different people and effective learning can strive more in friendship.”
Other respondents were more worried about the negative effects of workplace friendships. “When workplace friendships go awry, however, the impact can be costly. Too much socialising impedes productivity with personal or professional information being revealed to inappropriate people,” Joy Tochukwu, a lawyer in her late twenties said. She added that although they are great, but they can burn out quickly too because “cliques may form, leading to favouritism and negativity.”
Precious Umunna, an undergraduate in her early 20s who resides in Kubwa, has a different view. “If two people have become casual friends while on the job, they may be able to deepen their friendship once one person moves on and they no longer feel inhibited by the workplace environment,” he stated.