Youngsters bet on friendships at work for job happiness

New Delhi: Many of the working youngsters in the country feel that having friendships with colleagues at work place contributes positively to happiness and success in their jobs, says a survey. The findings of the survey conducted by professional networking site LinkedIn also revealed that their closest colleagues understand them better than their partners.

As many as 62 per cent of the millenials - in the age group of 18 to 24 years - felt that friendships at work place made them feel happy, while 56 per cent said it motivated them. About 44 per cent of the respondents opined that friendships at work place made them more productive. Citing the survey, LinkedIn India Communications-head Deepa Sapatnekar said there is a clear shift in how personal these relationships get, with 67 per cent of millenials saying that they were likely to share personal details with co-workers.

"Our survey reveals that interpersonal relationships at work can contribute in subtle yet visible ways to career and job success," Sapatnekar said in a statement today. Throwing more light on the behavioural aspects of millenials, nearly one out of three who participated in the survey believe that socialising with colleagues in person would help them advance their career.

"Three out of five millenials workers in India report that socializing in-person with coworkers makes their working environment better," the statement said. Further, 45 per cent of the millenials surveyed in the country said that they have confided in a colleague instead of a friend or partner for relationship advice. Besides, 45 per cent professionals in India reported that friendships with colleagues made them more productive at work as compared to a global average of 34 per cent.

Interestingly, 19 per cent of millenials would sacrifice friendship with a colleague for a promotion, the survey said. On the other hand, about 28 per cent of those aged between 55-65 years opined that friendship with colleagues did not have any bearing on their performance at work.

The survey 'Relationships @ Work' covered more than 11,500 full-time professionals around the world. Respondents between the ages of 18-65 were surveyed in 14 countries including the US, India, Australia and Hong Kong.