Few U.S. employees have a work `best friend' |
A recent Gallup poll found that just two in 10 adult U.S. employees say they have someone at work they consider to be a ‘best friend.’ The percentage under age 35 fell by three points when compared to pre-pandemic 2019, to 21% from 24%, said Gallup workplace and well-being researcher Jim Harter. There was no change for workers 35 and older, he said. “We’re seeing in the data that younger people in general are feeling more disconnected from their workplaces,” Harter observed. “You can attribute some of that potentially to remote work. If they’re less connected to their workplace, they have fewer opportunities to connect with other colleagues and to develop those kinds of friendships that they might have had in the past.” Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, says more companies are actively encouraging friendships. His organization is one of a growing number of employers that buy lunches for people who invite somebody they're not close with to a meal as a way to encourage new ties. “From a diversity, equity and inclusion standpoint, we're trying to get people together who have different sets of experiences, lived experiences, backgrounds, etc.,” Taylor said. “The idea is, you go to lunch with a stranger and make them a friend.”