Should you encourage employee friendships?

The average person will spend a third of their lifetime at work. That’s a total of 90,000 hours.

So, it’s no wonder co-workers form such strong bonds when they spend more time with each other than with their loved ones. And that’s great for them. But what about you?

We explore the benefits and drawbacks of employee friendships.

Pro: Happy staff create a healthy business

If your staff strike up a rapport with each other, they’re more likely to enjoy coming into work every day.

They’ll be more positive and enjoy working alongside their teammates to achieve a common goal—and that can only benefit you.

Con: Be wary of cliques

Cliques can cause real problems in your workplace.

They can make other co-workers feel left out and create a divide within your team. Watch out for these exclusive groups.

If they do appear, try to separate the people that are causing the problems and pair them up with others in your team.

Pro: Friendly staff stay longer

Studies have found that employees are more likely to stay with a company if they have more friends at work.

This means if you encourage your team to socialize, your staff are more likely to stay put. And that means your staff turnover stays low and you get to hold on to the talent you’ve helped nurture.

Con: Summer can be a nightmare

Think about it. When you’ve got two employees that are best buds, they’re going to want to spend time outside of work together.

They might book trips abroad, weekends away or festival tickets. And you’re the one that has to handle their holiday requests coming through at the same time.

In the summer months, this might be a problem. You might not have room to let two people off at the same time.

And that means either disappointing one of them or putting more pressure on the staff already working that day. But don’t fret…

Our HR experts can help you figure out what’s right for your business in this situation. To learn more, call us today at (1) 888-220-4924.