Why Workplace Friendships are Crucial for Mental Health

The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. With so much of our lives spent in the workplace and our need as humans to be social for the sake of our wellbeing, we crave good relationships with our colleagues. Despite this, 69% of people are unsatisfied with opportunities for connection at their work, and 53% saying they would trade workplace compensation for a closer relationship with their colleagues.

Friendship has long been understood to be essential for good mental wellbeing and is beneficial for individuals, workplaces, communities, and may even change the world. But how does it truly benefit us? Why is it so vital to success and wellbeing?

Importance of connection and friendship

As humans, relationships are one of the most important components of our lives. They dictate how we experience life and significantly impact our mental health. Social connections can uplift us, make us more trusting, and give us a stronger sense of belonging.

Friendships can protect us from mental health challenges in the workplace, such as anxiety, PTSD, and loneliness. In fact, in a recent study involving over 500,000 people, 90% of them reported that having higher social connection significantly protected them from depression.

It can be difficult to speak to a family member about mental health issues, so friendships can offer a more accessible form of mental health support when going through a difficult time without, without fear of judgement.

Can workplace friendships affect performance?

Friendships in workplaces can sometimes be seen as a double-edge sword, with a potential risk of loss in productivity and favouritism. These challenges must be managed accordingly by the organisation and their leadership teams.

On the other side, the value of social connection and added benefit of mental health support that friendship provides cannot be ignored. Forming strong connections with people is beneficial in promoting better mental health and organisations should take the lead in nurturing strong, professional, and trusting relationships in the workplace to boost productivity, cohesion and engagement.

Connections and the workplace

With most of us spending one third of our adult lives in the workplace, the importance of social connections and friendships in a working environment is vital to success. Positive relationships create a positive, safe, and comfortable environment for everyone, making it easier to come into the workplace, enjoy our roles and remain engaged, thus boosting workforce satisfaction through a sense of belonging.

Being able to depend on trusted people in a moment of need can be exceptionally beneficial for mental wellbeing, particularly in the workplace which can prove to be a very stressful environment. It allows you to lean on people in moments of need, seek assistance with an issue you might be struggling with or discuss sensitive topics with confidence. Without this outlet, stress can quickly build which may lead to anxiety and/or burnout.

How are workplace friendships beneficial for individuals and organisations? (H2)

Reduction in mental health challenges

When people build connections with the people they work with, it limits the risk of loneliness and isolation whilst offering a safe and trusted space to discuss any mental health challenges and developing a greater sense of belonging. This makes for a healthier and happier workforce, meaning they are more productive and engaged within the workplace.

Attract new talent

Organisations can also benefit from stronger workforce connections. Approximately 45% of people in the UK workforce would rank a great culture above all other factors when looking for a new role, and a huge part of this would be the friendships and connections made in the role.

Increase in trust and satisfaction

When friendships are celebrated in the workplace, people are more committed to the organisation’s overall goal, trust one another more, and are better able to work in unison. Trust informs stronger decision-making, increases loyalty, and lowers stress levels in the workplace.

Friendships are grounding

Friends keep us grounded, they offer different perspectives, stability, honesty, and some may even offer reality checks when needed. Having this support helps people with their emotional stability and resilience whilst keeping other authentic to themselves to boost mental health.

Better recovery through difficult periods

Everyone will encounter at least one difficult period in their lives. You may go through a bereavement, a relationship breakdown, or a financially challenging situation. When faced with difficult situations, it can be difficult to manage, and you may feel overwhelmed. In these instances, we reach out to those closest to us to seek support.

Friends can support us during these mentally draining times, ensuring we can overcome low moods and poor mental health. This principle applies just as much in the workplace as it does outside of it. Having people we trust alongside us in the workplace provides an extended and trusted support network during times we cannot be surrounded by family and long-time friends.

Relinquish any tension that is on our mind

Being able to discuss mental health challenges with someone is a great way to overcome tension and stress within the mind. Trusted friends may offer different perspectives to show better understanding of specific problems to offer solutions and provide a trusting and safe space for the individual to relinquish any mental strain.

Reduce loneliness and social isolation

Approximately 3 in 5 young people report loneliness decreases their self-confidence. Friendships offer relief from loneliness and social isolation, allowing us to feel more connected to those around us. In turn, this may boost confidence and facilitate a sense of belonging and purpose.

Offering different perspectives

Sometimes when you are going through a traumatic or upsetting situation, it can be hard to see other perspectives, and it can feel like you have limited options. This may increase the likelihood of worsening mental health challenges, like depression and anxiety. Speaking to a trusted friend will offer different perspectives that you may not have noticed beforehand.

Combatting mental health stigmas

Having strong connections in the workplace encourages open and honest conversations about mental health. This can go a long way to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health discussions and introducing better means of support such as encouraging access to counselling services.

Career progression

Cultivating a trusting environment is a great way to create future leaders through empowering people in the workplace through connection. The trust built between coworkers builds a supportive environment that uplifts people and give them the confidence to grow and develop news skills for new roles with more responsibility.

How can organisations cultivate and celebrate workplace friendships?

• Team Building events allow your team to cultivate their friendships in a social setting through team building events, such as coffee mornings, workshops, and out of work events.

• Build trust in your workplace. For people to form meaningful friendships with their colleagues, trust must be present, and this has to come from the organisation and its leadership teams.

• Discover common ground. Finding shared hobbies and encouraging conversations around similarities is a great way to encourage friendships in the workplace.

How can an Employee Assistance Programme help to build and maintain workplace friendships?

Friendships may be hard to cultivate when a person is struggling with their mental health. Using HA | Wisdom Wellbeing’s Employee Assistance Programme, individuals can access expert mental wellbeing support 24/7, 365-days a year and work to build self-confidence.

This will help facilitate workplace friendships and cohesion with a happier and healthier workforce, with the confidence to build continued and lasting connections. As well as this, using the Wisdom App can help people engage in fun wellbeing challenges such as hydration and step counter competitions for a sense of camaraderie and fun.

Conclusion

Workplace friendships are not only essential for mental health and wellbeing, but for a cohesive and successful workforce too. As mentioned, humans are inherently social creatures. We crave connection and need it to remain mentally healthy.