Science says you should be friends with your coworkers for this reason
Let’s face it, sometimes tolerating your daily workload at the office is seemingly impossible. Your boss gets under your skin, you feel overworked, and the pressure can be overwhelming. The only people who understand what you’re going through are your coworkers. Sure — they can drive you crazy as well, but at least they know exactly what you’re going through. Well, science has been looking into working relationships, and it looks like there is a really good reason why you should be closer friends with your coworkers.
According to a study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Review and spotted by Brit + Co., the stronger your relationships at work are, the healthier you are. You are less likely to feel burned out at work if you surround yourself with people you like in the workplace.
This makes perfect sense! If people around you are being pleasant, you develop a support system that can help you handle any stressful situation. But if your work environment is hostile, good luck trying to get anything done. Dr. Niklas Steffens from the University of Queensland, Australia says:
“Leaders play a key role in shaping a sense of group identity in the workplace.
That means that if you are looking to do your best work, search for a company that has supportive leadership and the type of environment you can see yourself thrive in.
The study looked at people in a variety of different professional fields from around 15 countries. That’s a pretty wide net to cast, meaning this result is universal. Humans just want to be supported in their endeavors and work environments should not be excluded from that.
Life is too short to work somewhere where the people you see every day are not the people you want to grab a drink with after.