Are friends vital to your paycheck?By Lisa Earle McLeod Want to skyrocket to the top of the corporate food chain? Forget trying to bribe your boss with a cheese log. If you really want to get promoted, you need a best friend. Late night e-mails, dazzling PowerPoints and volunteering to create a 3-inch binder documenting the work of your cross-functional, multi-department synergistic project team may seem like the fast track to the corner office, but new research reveals that having a best friend at work can boost your career even more than kissing up to the boss. An extensive workplace study from Gallup reveals that people who have a best friend at work are significantly more likely to: get more done in less time, have fun on the job, innovate and share ideas and have a safe workplace with fewer accidents. Kinda confirms why you may have been happier waiting tables with your college buddies than you are knocking back the big bucks alone in your corporate cube. But merely having “a” friend at work isn’t enough. Those generic “good morning,” mindless chit-chat office mates — the ones we call “friends” but who are actually mere acquaintances we’ll never see again after we leave our job — have no effect on our productivity what-so-ever. But if you’re lucky enough to have a “best friend” at work, you're seven times more likely to be engaged in your job. Unfortunately, out of the 8 million people surveyed by Gallup, only 30 percent of employees report having a close, supportive confidante at work. Best-selling author Tom Rath uses the research to make a compelling case for friendship in his latest book, “Vital Friends, The People You Can’t Afford to Live Without” (Gallup Press, $22.95). He says, “When you think about your best job, it always goes back to the relationships, the local work group or the local manager.” In fact, the Gallup research indicates that “close friendships at work can increase your satisfaction with your organization by 50 percent” and “double your chances of having a favorable perception of your pay.” Good grief. If all it takes is a few friends to make you happy with your comp plan, you’d think every boss in America would be sending their staff out for margaritas every Friday afternoon. However, Rath, the head of Gallup’s Workplace Research and Leadership Consulting arm, says, “Most companies don’t do much to help people build relationships.” Managers are afraid “if the employees get together, they’ll be talking about me.” If you’re a jerk boss, we probably are trashing you at the Christmas party you made us pay for ourselves. Rath reports that, “Close workplace friendships are consistently one of the best predictors of an organization’s profitability,” but when companies discourage employee fraternization, people become “belly-ache buddies based on their mutual hatred of their employer.” As someone who once spent hours with her co-workers plotting our plan to publicly expose our evil, alcoholic, sexually harassing boss, I can promise you, mutual moaning isn’t nearly as much fun as doing worthwhile work with your pals. I’ve preached about the value of friendship for years, but after a decade in the seminar biz, I have yet to see a company pay for a “how to be a better friend” workshop. As Rath insightfully points out, “The energy between two people is what creates great marriages, families, teams and organizations. Yet when we think consciously about improving our lives, we put almost all of our efforts into self-development.” Bogus rah-rah programs to improve company loyalty fail time and time again, however loyalty between employees has been at the root of every vibrant, successful organization since the dawn of time. You can learn more about the study and take the friendship quiz at www.VitalFriends.com But in the meantime, skip that time management seminar and start chatting up your pals at the water cooler and idling away your hours gossiping in the company cafeteria. And if your boss happens to catch you, you can honestly say, “I’m working here.” Copyright © 2006 by Lisa Earle McLeod. All Rights reserved. Lisa Earle McLeod is a nationally recognized speaker and the author of “Forget Perfect: Finding Joy, Meaning, and Satisfaction in the Life You’ve Already Got and the YOU You Already Are.” She has been seen on “Good Morning America” and featured in Lifetime, Glamour and The New York Times. Contact her at www.ForgetPerfect.com. EDITOR:
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