Workplace Friendship Research Articles

We-experiences and the maintenance of workplace friendships: Being workplace friends together

In this article, we are interested in how togetherness in workplace friendships is experienced in the absence of physical co-presence. We explore practices through which we-experiences, that is, shared experiences that produce feelings of togetherness, are realized and maintained across time and space and how different we-experiences constitute different modes of togetherness. Findings from our autoethnographic phenomenological study suggest four modes. Transactive togetherness as vivid and intense we-experiences in the face of tight deadlines but little genuine we-experiences at other times. Retrospective togetherness as re-lived we-experiences when shared memories or stories are retold, recalled, and ‘brought back to life’. Associative togetherness as we-experiences that emerge in the light of immediate emotional and personal challenges that are addressed collectively. Projective togetherness as anticipated we-experiences that emerge from a compelling vision of each other in our work and personal life. We add to the current conversations on the continuous entanglement and interlocking nature of we-experiences, the temporality of togetherness at work, and how friendships are actively accomplished through individuals.

Sustainable Vitality and Learning: The Connotation, Scale, and Heterogeneity of Dualistic Psychological Thriving at Work

Psychological thriving is crucial for the sustainable well-being and continuous growth of employees in the workplace. This study aims to explore the concept, measurement, and heterogeneity of dualistic psychological thriving at work to promote sustainable vitality and learning among employees. In Study 1, we identified psychological thriving at work as a second-order dualistic construct, encompassing the positive psychological state in which individuals experience vitality and learning in their current work and hold high expectations for their future work. This construct consists of two dimensions: psychological thriving of work experience and psychological thriving of work development. In Study 2, we conducted exploratory factor analysis and second-order confirmatory factor analyses using two independent samples, providing empirical evidence for the second-order dualistic structure of psychological thriving at work. Subsequently, we developed a comprehensive scale to measure dualistic psychological thriving at work and assessed its criterion validity by examining its relationship with workplace friendship and work autonomy. In Study 3, we investigated the overall levels and pursuit preferences of dualistic psychological thriving at work among different generations. The findings revealed significant differences in the overall levels and pursuit preferences of dualistic psychological thriving at work across generations. Post-1990s employees exhibited the highest overall level of dualistic psychological thriving at work, while post-1970s employees had the lowest. Moreover, post-1990s employees were more inclined to pursue psychological thriving of work experience, whereas post-1980s employees tended to seek psychological thriving of work development. No significant differences were found among post-1970s employees.

The honey-trap of workplace friendship: Developing and testing a three-way interaction model to understand when and why workplace friendship triggers employee withdrawal behaviour.

Although previous research has found that workplace friendship has beneficial effects on employees' and organisations' consequences, knowledge regarding the complexity and dark sides of workplace friendship is limited. Our purpose is to develop and test a three-way interaction model that explains when and how negative outcomes of workplace friendship are likely to unfold considering both individual personality and contextual conditions. Based on the stressor-emotion model, we argue that workplace friendship may also be a stressor due to its conflicting and contradictory dual roles, which in turn triggers negative employees' emotions, thus, leading to withdrawal behaviour. Furthermore, we propose that emotional reactivity and task interdependence are individual and contextual factors that induce and catalyse the negative effect of workplace friendship. By analysing the data from 429 respondents, the result supported our hypotheses. Overall, our research provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for future research on the dark sides of workplace friendship.

A Study on Employee Engagement and Ethic of Friendship

This abstract presents a comprehensive overview of the relationship between employee engagement and the ethic of friendship, highlighting the potential benefits and challenges associated with cultivating friendships in the workplace. Friendship in the workplace is characterized by mutual trust, support, and a sense of camaraderie between employees. When fostered effectively, it can have a profound impact on employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall well-being. Genuine friendships in the workplace can create a sense of belonging and encourage collaboration, leading to increased employee productivity, creativity, and loyalty. Additionally, workplace friendships have been linked to lower turnover rates and improved employee retention. Employee engagement and ethical practices are critical factors for fostering a positive work environment and enhancing organizational success. However, an often over looked aspect is the role of friendship within the workplace and its influence on employee engagement and ethical behaviour.

The Effect of Workplace Friendship on Hotel Employees’ Intention to Leave: Moderating Role of Psychological Contract Violation

Sustainability is a universal value of running a business. This study examines the influence of workplace friendships among hotel staff on their intention to leave, while considering the moderating effect of psychological contract violation. The sample group of the questionnaire is the employees in the five-star hotels in Taiwan. This study employs the purposive sampling method to collect questionnaires. For this research, 450 questionnaires were handed out to hotel staffs, with 150 questionnaires distributed, respectively, in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan. A total of 368 valid questionnaires were collected, resulting in an effective response rate of 81.78%. The results indicate that: (1) Friendship opportunities and friendship prevalence can significantly decrease workers’ intention to leave their jobs; (2) Psychological contract violation moderates the negative influence of friendship opportunity/friendship prevalence on one’s intention to leave. Finally, the paper proposes theoretical implications, practical implications and future research directions in accordance with the findings.

The effects of workplace friendship network centrality on deep acting.

We integrated social network theory with conservation of resource theory to predict that workplace friendship network centrality provides service employees with critical psychological resources that foster deep acting: positive affect and positive self-perception. In Study 1, we conducted a survey (N = 105) in a Korean banking firm, revealing that these resources mediate the relationship between workplace friendship network centrality and deep acting. Studies 2 and 3, both experimental studies, investigated the hypothesized causal relationships. In Study 2 (N = 151), we found that workplace friendship network centrality increases the intention toward deep acting. Further, Study 3 (N = 140) confirmed the direct effects of friendship network centrality on positive affect and self-perception. By providing insights into the structural antecedents of emotional labor, we inform managers in service organizations of the value of creating avenues for their employees to form and maintain friendships within the organization.

Perceived Administrative Leader Transformational Leadership, Organizational Climate and Job Involvement: Workplace Friendship as a Moderator

Perceived Administrative Leader Transformational Leadership, Organizational Climate and Job Involvement: Workplace Friendship as a Moderator

Evaluating the Impact of Workplace Friendship on Social Loafing in Long-Term Care Institutions: An Empirical Study

In light of the aging population and the rapid growth of people with mental and physical disabilities, the demand for long-term care has increased significantly. In order to meet the massive need for long-term care, the government of the Republic of China has accelerated the training of manpower for care services, and the number of qualified staff and institutions in the long-term care industry has increased accordingly. Although the need for long-term care employees has increased, they face problems such as low pay, low levels of decent work feelings, and high work pressure. Moreover, the increase in employee numbers in the organization does not improve the overall efficiency of long-term care workers. Instead, it has a social loafing effect. Not only in Taiwan, but other countries worldwide, such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates, are experiencing a staff shortage, a lack of training, and social loafing in long-term care institutions due to the aging of their populations. Therefore, in this study, workplace friendship as the independent variable, organizational commitment and psychological safety as the mediating variables, and service climate as the moderating variable were used to investigate the effects of social loafing on the employees of long-term care institutions in Taiwan. The results showed that workplace friendship between employees positively and significantly affects organizational commitment and psychological safety. Moreover, organizational commitment and psychological safety will negatively and significantly affect their social loafing. Second, organizational commitment and psychological safety have mediating effects between workplace friendship and social loafing. Furthermore, the service climate of employees in long-term care institutions will positively moderate the impact of their workplace friendship on psychological safety. The results will be provided to those in charge of the long-term care service industry, training institutions, long-term care business-related organizations, and government agencies, as well as for reference in subsequent studies.

Job Satisfaction and Workplace Happiness as Predictors of Workplace Friendship across Psychological Counselors

Workplace friendship is a unique type of relationship across all organizational levels between employees in the same or different departments and is an important factor in professional life. It has been suggested that school counselors need workplace friends, who are an important source of social support, to overcome the stress associated with the corporate environment and job conditions. Furthermore, workplace friendship fulfills several positive functions for both employees and institutions. Thus, the first aim of the current study is to investigate the perceptions of psychological counselors about workplace friendship based on various variables. The second aim is to determine the predictive role of job satisfaction and workplace well-being perceptions of psychological counselors in workplace friendship. The study sample included 339 school counselors, 232 of whom were female (68.4%) and 107 (31.6%) were male, and who were in different provinces in Turkey. The study data were collected with the Workplace Friendship Scale, the Job Satisfaction Scale, the Workplace Well-Being Scale, and a Personal Demographics Form. T-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were employed to analyze the study data. The findings revealed that there were significant correlations between workplace well-being and job satisfaction and workplace friendship. Workplace well-being and job satisfaction explained 27% of the variation in workplace friendship. The study findings contributed to the determination of the factors that affect workplace relations of psychological counselors.

The Effects of Feeling Envied on Employees' Psychological Safety and Work Engagement: The Role of Workplace Friendship.

Despite the increasing interest of feeling envied in recent studies, understanding of its outcome is still limited. Based on the theory of social information processing, this study aims to examine how feeling envied affects work engagement through psychological safety, and how the effect of feeling envied is moderated by workplace friendship. Two rounds of surveys were conducted, and a sample of 340 participants was collected in China. The results show that feeling envied reduces employees' psychological safety, which in turn impacts their work engagement. Further, the negative effect of feeling envied is mitigated under a higher level of workplace friendship. This study contributes to the literature by further explaining the theoretical mechanism regarding the outcomes of feeling envied. The results can provide managers helpful suggestions to alleviate the negative outcomes of feeling envied.

Managing the risks and side effects of workplace friendships: The moderating role of workplace friendship self-efficacy

In this paper, we investigate the risks and side effects of workplace friendships for coworkers. Combining the dialectical perspective on workplace friendships with a self-regulatory perspective, we argue that workplace friendships can lead to incivility directed toward coworkers because employees experience inter-role conflict between their role as “employee” and their role as “friend”, and subsequent resource depletion. We further suggest that employees with higher workplace friendship self-efficacy are better able to manage these risks and side effects. We tested our hypotheses in two studies with time-lagged data (Study 1: 451 employees, Study 2: 499 employees) using structural equation modeling. Study 1 showed that workplace friendships are positively related to incivility via inter-role conflict and subsequent resource depletion. Workplace friendship self-efficacy buffered the indirect relation between workplace friendships and incivility. Study 2 partly replicated and extended the findings from Study 1. We found support for the serial mediation effect of workplace friendship on incivility via inter-role conflict and resource depletion and we were able to extend Study 1 by disentangling the targets of incivility. In particular, employees instigated incivility toward other coworkers rather than their workplace friends. However, the moderating effect of workplace friendship self-efficacy did not replicate. Our findings contribute to the literatures on workplace friendships and role conflicts.

How Does Friendship Motivate Frontline Employees to Exhibit Brand Ambassador Behavior: The Important Role of Well-Being and Helping Behavior

Training employees to become image ambassadors is an important manifestation of an organization’s internal branding. However, most tourism destination marketing studies consider external image-building and pay little attention to the brand ambassador behavior of internal members. This study investigates 208 front-line employees in two tourist attractions and constructs a structural equation model including workplace friendship, employee well-being, employee helping behavior, and employee brand ambassador behavior. The results show that: (1) workplace friendship has a significant promoting effect on employee brand ambassador behavior; (2) employee helping behavior mediates the relationships between workplace friendship and employee well-being, and between workplace friendship and employee brand ambassador behavior; (3) employee well-being mediates the relationship between workplace friendship and employee brand ambassador behavior; (4) employee helping behavior and employee well-being play a chain-mediating role in the relationship between workplace friendship and employee brand ambassador behavior. Our findings not only enrich the theoretical understanding of outcomes of workplace friendship, but also provide important guidance for tourist attractions regarding internal brand marketing.

I am done now! Linking workplace incivility to job search behaviour and employee silence

PurposeRemote work has allowed IT professionals to engage in “side hustles”, which is against the law in the Indian labour market. Professionals in the IT industry are constantly being scrutinized due to the emerging “side hustling” culture, and as a result, they are frequently subjected to rude and uncivil behaviour by others. This study aims to examine the outcome of workplace incivility on the employee’s job search behaviour and their silence. Along with this, it examines the intervening effect of organizational cynicism on the interrelation of workplace incivility with job search behaviour and employee silence. It further investigates the buffering role of workplace friendship in the link between workplace incivility and organizational cynicism.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a mixed-methods approach was used, which included testing the structural model followed by a qualitative study. In Study 1, the structural model testing of time-lagged primary data from 252 respondents who worked in information technology (IT) or information technology-enabled services was done, whereas Study 2 included a qualitative analysis.FindingsThe findings disclose that workplace incivility is positively connected to job search behaviour and employee silence. Organizational cynicism significantly intervenes in the link between workplace incivility and job search behaviour, and between workplace incivility and employee silence, whereas workplace friendship functions as a moderator in the link between workplace incivility and organizational cynicism. The findings indicate that if an employee experiences incivility at work, then workplace friendship plays an active role in encouraging the cynical behaviour of targeted employees towards their organisation.Originality/valueIn the past, investigators have investigated the concept of workplace incivility; however, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, its impact on job search behaviour is studied for the first time ever, whereas its impact on employee silence is studied for the first time in a moonlighting context in Indian industry. In light of the massive layoffs in India's IT industry because of employees' pursuit of side hustles, the results of this study will help firms better comprehend the negative repercussions of workplace incivility. These effects include employees' reluctance to speak up about problems at work and an increase in their frequency of actively seeking other employment.

Effect of Workplace Bullying on Job Engagement among Nurses : Focusing on Mediating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation and Moderated Mediating Effect of Workplace Friendship

Effect of Workplace Bullying on Job Engagement among Nurses : Focusing on Mediating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation and Moderated Mediating Effect of Workplace Friendship

Internal Branding in Hotels: Interaction Effects of Employee Engagement, Workplace Friendship, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This study aimed to investigate three variables that may interact with internal branding (IB) in the hotel context: employee engagement (EE), workplace friendship (WF), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). This study adopted a survey methodology. 385 valid responses were collected from employees of 20 five-star chain hotels located in the Greater Cairo region of Egypt. The data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between OCB and WF with EE, in addition to OCB, EE, and WF with IB. The mediating role of EE between OCB and IB, besides the moderating role of WF on the relationship between OCB and EE, was also determined. Contrary to the hypothesized model, results showed an insignificant relationship between WF and IB. This study provides a theoretical contribution to deepen the understanding of the internal branding concept in the context of the hotel industry. Practically, this research may be helpful for hotel enterprises in engendering and sustaining effective internal branding practices, which, in turn, could establish new links between internal and external hotel customers. Study limitations and potential directions for further research were also presented.

The Relationship between Social Capital and Sales Agents’ Performance

Much of the previous literature has focused on reviewing social capital to discuss its impact, even the profit or loss, but social capital research still has a gap, that is, the possible different mechanisms of its influence process. In view of this gap, this study differs from previous studies by further discussing the various possibilities that may affect the relationship between the social capital and job performance of sales agents. This study discusses whether the relationship between social capital and job performance is affected by corporate social responsibility (CSR), workplace friendship, and proactive personality. Therefore, the purposive sampling method is adopted, where the research object is the full-time sales agents in Taiwan’s finance and insurance brokerage industry.The results of this study showed a positive relationship exists between four conditions: social capital and job performance, corporate social responsibility strengthening social capital and job performance, workplace friendship strengthening social capital and job performance, and proactive personality strengthening social capital and job performance.

The Relationship between Social Capital and Sales Agents’ Performance

Much of the previous literature has focused on reviewing social capital to discuss its impact, even the profit or loss, but social capital research still has a gap, that is, the possible different mechanisms of its influence process. In view of this gap, this study differs from previous studies by further discussing the various possibilities that may affect the relationship between the social capital and job performance of sales agents. This study discusses whether the relationship between social capital and job performance is affected by corporate social responsibility (CSR), workplace friendship, and proactive personality. Therefore, the purposive sampling method is adopted, where the research object is the full-time sales agents in Taiwan’s finance and insurance brokerage industry.The results of this study showed a positive relationship exists between four conditions: social capital and job performance, corporate social responsibility strengthening social capital and job performance, workplace friendship strengthening social capital and job performance, and proactive personality strengthening social capital and job performance.

Human Energy in Hotel Enterprises: Antecedents and Consequences

Abstract
 The aim of this study is to determine the human energy levels of hotel business employees and to reveal the factors affecting the energy levels of employees and the factors affecting the energy levels. For this purpose, in this study, perceived organizational support, leader-member exchange, perceived autonomy, workplace friendship, organizational commitment, employee performance variables is the relationship between employee creativity and the human energy has been trying to put forward positive organizational behavior approach. In this context, 393 pieces of data were collected from five-star hotel management employees operating in Antalya province using purposeful sampling method and survey technique. As a result of the regression analysis performed with the obtained data, it has been found that perceived organizational support, leader-member exchange, perceived autonomy, workplace friendship and organizational commitment have significant and positive effect on the energy of hotel employees, and the variable that most affects their energy levels is organizational commitment.

Does Workplace Friendship Contribute Toward Work Engagement among Employee of West Java’s Industrial Area?

Organization needed energetic and dedicated employees, employees who are engaged with their work. But some surveys show that engagement among employee specially millennials tend to be decreased. One of the factors can contributed toward work engagement is workplace friendship. This study aims to examine whether workplace friendship contribute toward work engagement among employee in the industrial area of ​​West Java. The participants involved were 409 employees in the industrial area of ​​West Java (Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta, and Bandung Raya) with a minimum working period of one year or more. The instruments used in this study were the Workplace Friendship Scale (WFS) to measure workplace friendships with a reliability of 0. 687 and The Utrecht Work Engagement (UWES) to measure work engagement with a reliability of 0.929. The data analysis technique used is simple linear regression analysis using the SPSS version 26 program. The results show that workplace friendship contribute toward work engagement among employee in the industrial area of West Java

Workplace friendship, employee well-being and knowledge hiding: The moderating role of the perception of Chaxu climate.

In recent years, knowledge hiding has become a hot topic in the field of organizational behavior because of its great harm. However, relevant studies have focused only on the negative interpersonal antecedents of knowledge hiding but neglected the inhibition effect of positive informal relationships on the behavior. To fill this gap, the current study develops a moderated mediation model to investigate how and when workplace friendship has a negative impact on knowledge hiding. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET), we propose that workplace friendship inhibits knowledge hiding through the mediating role of employee well-being, with the Perception of Chaxu climate acting as a boundary condition. Using data from a two-wave time-lagged survey of 279 employees in China, the results show that workplace friendship has a negative impact on knowledge hiding behavior. Specifically, workplace friendship inhibits knowledge hiding by satisfied employee well-being, i.e., workplace friendship has a positive impact on employee well-being, while employee well-being has a negative impact on knowledge hiding. Perception of Chaxu Climate moderates the indirect effect, as the level of employee's Perception of Chaxu climate rises, the direct effect of workplace friendship on employee well-being is stronger, so as the indirect effect of workplace friendship on knowledge hiding. This article explores the mechanisms affecting employee knowledge hiding from a new interpersonal perspective of workplace friendship. It is enlightened that firms should pay attention to the management of workplace friendship, provide employee with opportunities to establish workplace friendship while providing proper guidance on the direction of workplace friendship and improving the quality of it, in order to promote employees' happiness perception and organizational knowledge management ability.