Over half of Britons consider co-workers to be closest friends

friends

A new study looking into the happiness of people at work has found 52% of Britons think their co-workers are their closest friends.

It was also found their friendship is because they spend the most amount of time with them. Britons also think it takes a year to establish a friendship with a colleague.

It was initially found that, while 87% of respondents are close enough to some of their co-workers to consider them friends, 52% consider one or more of their co-workers to be their closest friends.

Of those who spend time together outside of the workplace, 58% have introduced their workplace best friend to their partner, 40% have introduced them to their other friends and 35% have introduced them to their family.

Asked how long they felt it takes to establish a good friendship with colleague, to the point of classing them as a truly close friend, the average length of time to transition from colleague to good friend was found to be 8 months when working together closely day-in, day-out, and 14 months when not working together closely.

Of the respondents who said that their co-workers know the most about them, 65% admit they share more with their work friends than their friends outside of the workplace. The most common reason for this was down to seeing them five days a week and thoughts and feelings not slipping through the net.

It was finally found that 83% of respondents think their relationships with people in the workplace contributes to their overall happiness at work and is a contributing factor to them staying loyal to a company.

Patrick Gore, Managing Director of www.hampers.com, who conducted the research, commented: “We can easily spend upwards of 35 hours a week with the same group of people, so it’s great to hear that some of those workplace friendships extend past the workplace. Not only does it make going to work five days a week more enjoyable, but it also provides entertainment and gives people a confidante in the workplace where they can share their thoughts, feelings and more.”