Work from Home Limits Work Friendships
2023-02-21
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1And now the Health & Lifestyle report from VOA Learning English.
2Working from home has its benefits, but it also has its problems. One of them involves workplace friendships.
3Working remotely, or away from an office, may make it harder to form friendships with coworkers.
4In the United States, only two in every 10 employees say they have a "best friend" at work.
5That information comes from a Gallup opinion study done in June 2022.
6Jim Harter is a workplace and well-being researcher for Gallup.
7He said, "We (are) seeing in the data that younger people in general are feeling more disconnected from their workplaces."
8Harter added that if young people are "less connected to their workplace," they have fewer chances to connect with their co-workers.
9It may be difficult to "develop those kinds of friendships that they might have had in the past."
10Also, he said there is a difference in levels of trust among work friends.
11"It (is) a lot more difficult to establish close kinds of relationships when you (are) more distant," he said.
12Take for example, Crystal Powers.
13She is a medical records manager in the state of Wisconsin.
14Powers began a new remote job in February 2022.
15Powers is the only manager hired since the pandemic who oversees full-time remote workers.
16Team building has been difficult, she said.
17She has not yet met in person two of the five people she oversees.
18She said, "It (has) been more challenging than it has been in past positions to ... earn the trust in me as a supervisor, because they still do (not) really know me."
19She also has found it hard to connect with other managers online.
20Still, Powers said, she likes working remotely.
21Harter, from Gallup, said that having a best friend at work has become even more important since the rise in remote and hybrid employment.
22For many employees during the pandemic, workplace friendships offered social and emotional support at a critical time, Gallup found from their recent study.
23This is especially true of parents, educators and frontline workers.
24These workplace friendships also benefited employers.
25Gallup research shows that employees who have a close friend at work are much more likely to:
26interact with customers and work partners,
27get more done in less time,
28support a safe workplace with fewer accidents,
29and create and share ideas.
30Johnny C. Taylor Jr. is president and chief of the Society for Human Resource Management.
31He said many good things come from work friendships.
32First on his list is worker retention - a company's ability to keep good workers.
33Next on his list is peace in the workplace.
34He said work friends can help to keep each other calm when disagreements happen.
35More companies, he said, are actively supporting workplace friendships.
36His organization has nearly 500 employees around the world.
37One of its programs centers around something that often brings people together -- food.
38The organization buys lunch for people who invite a new person to share a meal with them.
39Taylor said, "... we're trying to get people together who have different...lived experiences, backgrounds, et cetera.
40The idea is, you go to lunch with a stranger and make them a friend."
41Henry Crabtree is 26 years old and lives in London. He said that when you have close work friends, "You're not only working with each other but for each other."
42He was hired in December 2021 onto a small marketing team for a software company.
43That company has workers around the world.
44"Seeing each other outside work, especially when colleagues are from other countries," he said, really helps develop these friendships.
45And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
46I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now the Health & Lifestyle report from VOA Learning English. 2Working from home has its benefits, but it also has its problems. One of them involves workplace friendships. Working remotely, or away from an office, may make it harder to form friendships with coworkers. 3In the United States, only two in every 10 employees say they have a "best friend" at work. That information comes from a Gallup opinion study done in June 2022. 4Jim Harter is a workplace and well-being researcher for Gallup. He said, "We (are) seeing in the data that younger people in general are feeling more disconnected from their workplaces." 5Harter added that if young people are "less connected to their workplace," they have fewer chances to connect with their co-workers. It may be difficult to "develop those kinds of friendships that they might have had in the past." 6Also, he said there is a difference in levels of trust among work friends. "It (is) a lot more difficult to establish close kinds of relationships when you (are) more distant," he said. 7Take for example, Crystal Powers. She is a medical records manager in the state of Wisconsin. Powers began a new remote job in February 2022. 8Powers is the only manager hired since the pandemic who oversees full-time remote workers. Team building has been difficult, she said. She has not yet met in person two of the five people she oversees. 9She said, "It (has) been more challenging than it has been in past positions to ... earn the trust in me as a supervisor, because they still do (not) really know me." 10She also has found it hard to connect with other managers online. Still, Powers said, she likes working remotely. 11Harter, from Gallup, said that having a best friend at work has become even more important since the rise in remote and hybrid employment. 12For many employees during the pandemic, workplace friendships offered social and emotional support at a critical time, Gallup found from their recent study. This is especially true of parents, educators and frontline workers. 13These workplace friendships also benefited employers. Gallup research shows that employees who have a close friend at work are much more likely to: 14interact with customers and work partners, 15get more done in less time, 16support a safe workplace with fewer accidents, 17and create and share ideas. 18Johnny C. Taylor Jr. is president and chief of the Society for Human Resource Management. He said many good things come from work friendships. 19First on his list is worker retention - a company's ability to keep good workers. Next on his list is peace in the workplace. He said work friends can help to keep each other calm when disagreements happen. 20More companies, he said, are actively supporting workplace friendships. His organization has nearly 500 employees around the world. One of its programs centers around something that often brings people together -- food. The organization buys lunch for people who invite a new person to share a meal with them. 21Taylor said, "... we're trying to get people together who have different...lived experiences, backgrounds, et cetera. The idea is, you go to lunch with a stranger and make them a friend." 22Henry Crabtree is 26 years old and lives in London. He said that when you have close work friends, "You're not only working with each other but for each other." 23He was hired in December 2021 onto a small marketing team for a software company. That company has workers around the world. 24"Seeing each other outside work, especially when colleagues are from other countries," he said, really helps develop these friendships. 25And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 26I'm Anna Matteo. 27Leanne Italie reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 28______________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30remotely - adv. from a distance 31benefit - n. something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being 32hybrid - adj. consisting of diverse components for work, such as part work from home and part work in an office 33data - n. factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation 34challenging - adj. a situation that has difficulties to overcome 35manage - v. to direct the professional work of others 36frontline - adj. the most advanced, responsible, or visible position in a field or activity 37lunch - n. a usually light meal especially one taken in the middle of the day 38colleague - n. a fellow worker or professional 39______________________________________________________________________ 40Do you have close work friends? If you do, how do they affect your work-life? 41Let us know in the Comments section. 42We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 43Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.