“Do you have a best friend at work?” is often one of the most discussed of Gallup’s Engagement questions. Friendships are so important, they can literally impact life and death. According to a growing body of research, friendships are critical to our health and well being. A review of 38 studies found that adult friendships, especially high-quality ones that provide social support and companionship, significantly predict wellness and can protect against mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Those benefits persist across the life span.
Friendships protect to some degree by altering the way we respond to stress – NZ research found if we feel appreciated by our friends and colleagues we are 30x more likely to be doing well mental health wise. Our blood pressure can lower when we talk to a supportive friend. When we have a friend by our side while completing a tough task, we have less heart rate reactivity than those working alone. Friendships can also change our perspective. In one study, people even judged a hill to be less steep when accompanied by a friend.
Fortunately, research also suggests that friendships can be forged and maintained at any age. Even minimal social interactions can be powerful. So-called “weak ties” — interactions we have with casual acquaintances — can boost our health and sustain positivity.
Isolation during the pandemic proved hard on nearly everyone, but it did focus scientific attention on how important human connection is across all ages and all spheres of life.
We can’t make people be friends at work, but we can create organisational cultures (civil and positive) and work to make space and time where people have at least weak ties that can grow into more. A key theme in engagement surveys we run is people want to work more together.
