Work from Home Limits Work Friendships

Work from Home Limits Work Friendships

And now the Health & Lifestyle report from VOA Learning English.

Working 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.

In 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.

Jim Harter is a workplace and well-being¹ researcher for Gallup. He said, "We (are) seeing in the data that younger people in general are feeling more disconnected from their workplaces."

Harter 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."

Also, 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.

Take for example, Crystal Powers. She is a medical records manager in the state of Wisconsin. Powers began a new remote job in February 2022.

Powers is the only manager hired since the pandemic who oversees² full-time³ remote workers. Team building has been difficult, she said. She has not yet met in person two of the five people she oversees.

She said, "It (has) been more challenging than it has been in past positions to ... earn the trust in me as a supervisor⁴, because they still do (not) really know me."

She also has found it hard to connect with other managers online. Still, Powers said, she likes working remotely.

Harter, from Gallup, said that having a best friend at work has become even more important since the rise in remote and hybrid⁵ employment.

For 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.

These workplace friendships also benefited employers. Gallup research shows that employees who have a close friend at work are much more likely to:

interact⁶ with customers and work partners,

get more done in less time,

support a safe workplace with fewer accidents,

and create and share ideas.

Johnny C. Taylor Jr. is president and chief of the Society for Human Resource Management. He said many good things come from work friendships.

First on his list is worker retention⁷ – 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.

More companies, he said, are actively⁸ 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.

Taylor 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."

Henry 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."

He was hired in December 2021 onto a small marketing⁹ team for a software company. That company has workers around the world.

"Seeing each other outside work, especially when colleagues are from other countries," he said, really helps develop these friendships.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

Words in This Story

remotely – adv. from a distance

benefit – n. something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being

hybrid – adj. consisting of diverse components¹⁰ for work, such as part work from home and part work in an office

data – n. factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation

challenging – adj. a situation that has difficulties to overcome

manage – v. to direct the professional work of others

frontline – adj. the most advanced, responsible, or visible position in a field or activity

lunch – n. a usually light meal especially one taken in the middle of the day

colleague – n. a fellow worker or professional

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

6 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

7 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。