Recent piece in Quartz…
One of the few pieces of advice I feel good about giving to everyone is this: When your job gets harder, the best thing you can do is make a friend.
This is also backed by the data. Gallup research has consistently shown that having a best friend at work leads to better performance—perhaps related to the findings that people who have a best friend at work are more likely to be engaged in their job, more likely to take risks that spark innovation, and less likely to be actively looking for job opportunities elsewhere.
The upside could afford to be more widespread. Just 20% of US workers report having a best friend at work.
The other 80% perhaps doesn’t know what it’s missing or where to find it. For tips on the latter, Gallup’s research piece includes some suggestions on how you can create an environment where friendships can thrive, and the entire report is worth reading. For tips on the former, I turned to my own work BFF, Eli Budelli, mobile lead at Automattic, to share some things that make having a work BFF so great for us, particularly as senior managers within our organization.