Work friends can help employees feel more connected to the company and encourage them to stay in their roles, CNBC reported Nov. 29.
Throughout the "Great Resignation," workers are continuing to quit their jobs. One thing that may encourage them to stay, though, is creating meaningful friendships at work. Research from Gallup suggested that women who say they have a work best friend are more than twice as likely to be engaged in their workplace than those who don't.
Other employees attested to staying at a company just for the culture in the office. Abigail Lee stayed with a skincare startup for seven years after graduating college, in part because of a close friend and mentor she met there.
"Just going to work and spending time with people that make you laugh and be happy, they care about you, they champion you — it's such a luxury," she told CNBC.
In an attempt to make employees feel secure, Randstad CEO Jacques van den Broek told CNBC that he tries to cultivate positive relationships in the office.
"My main challenge is to reach out to people and to be in a good sense, the best friend at work. That might sound naïve because you're still the boss. But we do want to instill that. Because, if you respect me and I respect you, and I'm interested in who you are as a person … we also have better results," he said.