Colleagues and Friends: A Theoretical Framework of Workplace Friendship

Abstract

Friendships are among the most valued interpersonal relationships for individuals. Workplace friendships are also very important and are extremely common. Research shows workplace friendships boost employee motivation, performance, commitment, and have other positive outcomes. Despite the prevalence and great importance of workplace friendships, there isn’t much research about the theoretical underpinnings of this phenomenon. Our main contribution in this paper is to suggest a typology for workplace friendships, based on our understanding of the existing literature. We propose looking at this construct as a function of two factors: the Quality of the friendship and its Scope. Consequently, we propose four types of workplace friendships and discuss their likely antecedents and outcomes. Finally, we discuss avenues for future research in this area.

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