--- title: Should We Encourage Our Employees To Be Friends At Work? description: Should We Encourage Our Employees To Be Friends At Work? image: https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/coworker-conversation-scaled.jpg --- - [Secure File Transfer](https://affiliatedpayroll.myfileguardian.com/PostOffice/Main.aspx) - [Employee Log-In](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/employee-login/) - [Employer Log-In](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/client-login-portals/) [Request A Quote](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/request-a-quote/) [![Affiliated HR & Payroll Services](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/images/Affiliated-HR-Payroll-logo-dark.png?width=310&height=250&name=Affiliated-HR-Payroll-logo-dark.png "Affiliated HR & Payroll Services")](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/) - [About](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/about/) - Solutions - [HR Services](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/solutions/hr-services/) - 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[Afilliated HR & Payroll](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/author/ahrp-admin) 05/09/2023 [Friends At Work](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/tag/friends-at-work) [0 Comments](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work#postComment) 1 Minutes It’s great to create a workplace where people have the opportunity to form friendships, but don’t worry if not everyone shows interest in befriending their coworkers. Friendships at work can be a way for employees to feel connected and that they belong in the organization. A [Gallup poll from 2022](https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30204192/www.gallup.com?p=eyJzIjoiS1dWM3VMSnYtZXoybXprVW1aRFVUa2FqamdBIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDIwNDE5MixcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3d3dy5nYWxsdXAuY29tXFxcL3dvcmtwbGFjZVxcXC8zOTcwNThcXFwvaW5jcmVhc2luZy1pbXBvcnRhbmNlLWJlc3QtZnJpZW5kLXdvcmsuYXNweFwiLFwiaWRcIjpcIjlmMzE1ZGNkNmM3NTQyN2ViNzQ5ZGM0NmIyYTJlOWRlXCIsXCJ1cmxfaWRzXCI6W1wiZTlmZDFlZGRiN2FhMmQ5OWRkMGY5ZmIzYjJkZTM5MGVkMGU2MmQ0NFwiXX0ifQ) found that having a best friend at work provides essential emotional and social support that people need and ties strongly to key business outcomes. You can encourage friendships in the workplace by scheduling time during the workday for employees to get to know each other. Team lunches, game rooms, and coffee outings are popular options. Video chats—just to connect, without an agenda—are common in remote organizations. Another way to encourage friendships is to make it clear that employees are allowed to share about their personal lives as they feel comfortable, such as encouraging employees to decorate their office space with personal items or leaders sharing about their lives. Even with the benefits of having friends in the office, it’s important to remember not everyone wants to make friends at work. Some employees would prefer not to socialize much with their coworkers, and they can be just as productive and engaged. Don’t exclude or marginalize employees who don’t participate in the social activities, and don’t inquire as to *why* they don’t. In general, while encouraging employees to form friendships can have many benefits, you need to do so in a way that respects all employees’ preferences. *This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.* Content courtesy of the HR Support Center – https://affiliatedpayroll.myhrsupportcenter.com --- #### Tag: [Friends At Work](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/tag/friends-at-work) #### Share: - [Follow us on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work&text=Should%20We%20Encourage%20Our%20Employees%20To%20Be%20Friends%20At%20Work) - [Follow us on Linkedin](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work) - [Follow us on Pinterest](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work&text=Should%20We%20Encourage%20Our%20Employees%20To%20Be%20Friends%20At%20Work?description=It’s%20great%20to%20create%20a%20workplace%20where%20people%20have%20the%20opportunity%20to%20form%20friendships,%20but%20don’t%20worry%20if%20not%20everyone%20shows%20interest%20in%20befriending%20their[...]&media=https://45831542.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/45831542/Imported_Blog_Media/coworker-conversation-scaled.jpg) --- #### [How to Avoid Micromanaging Previous Post](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/how-to-avoid-micromanaging) #### [Federal Law Alert: Form I-9 Flexibilities Ending: Check Documents by August 30 Next Post](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/federal-law-alert-form-i-9-flexibilities-ending-check-documents-by-august-30) --- ![Affiliated HR Payroll](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/Affiliated-HR-Payroll-logo-light.png?width=750&name=Affiliated-HR-Payroll-logo-light.png "Affiliated HR Payroll") [![Accredited Business](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/blue-seal-293-61-whitetxt-bbb-90053136.png?width=293&name=blue-seal-293-61-whitetxt-bbb-90053136.png "Accredited Business")](https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/stafford/profile/payroll-services/affiliated-payroll-services-0915-90053136/#sealclick) ![Satisfaction Stamp](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/100-satisfaction-stamp.png?width=160&name=100-satisfaction-stamp.png "Satisfaction Stamp") ![Isolved-Network](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/Isolved-Network.png?width=451&name=Isolved-Network.png "Isolved-Network") #### RESOURCES & LINKS - [AHRP Resources](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/resources/) - [Blog](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/) - [Request A Quote](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/request-a-quote/) - [Employer Log-In](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/client-login-portals/) - [Employee Log-In](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/employee-login/) - [Secure File Transfer](https://affiliatedpayroll.myfileguardian.com/PostOffice/Main.aspx) - [Privacy/Terms of Use](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/privacy-terms-of-use/) [![facebook](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/icon-facebook.png?width=100&name=icon-facebook.png "facebook")](https://www.facebook.com/AffiliatedHRPayroll/) [![Youtube](https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Affiliated_HR_Payroll_Services_June2024/Images/icon-youtube.png?width=100&name=icon-youtube.png "Youtube")](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxFmvmFA1inMJk28v4QlTNA) #### NEWSLETTER SIGNUP © 2026 Affiliated HR & Payroll [All Rights Reserved.](https://affiliatedhrpayroll.com/privacy-terms-of-use/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Afilliated HR & Payroll", "url" : "https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/author/ahrp-admin" }, "dateModified" : "2024-07-16T13:52:36.710Z", "datePublished" : "2023-05-09T15:02:38.000Z", "headline" : "Should We Encourage Our Employees To Be Friends At Work?", "image" : [ "https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/coworker-conversation-scaled.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/should-we-encourage-our-employees-to-be-friends-at-work", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.affiliatedhrpayroll.com/hubfs/Affiliated%20Logos/Affiliated-HR-Payroll-logo-dark.png" } } } ```