The workers long for accompanying persons who were published on Tuesday, which were published on Tuesday from audit, tax and consulting companies KPMG, by 57%, with a salary of 10% below the market value, to work with friends about a job with a salary of 10% over the market, without close friendships.
According to KPMG, this “friendship bonus” effectively appreciates the relationships at the workplace to 20% of the salary of someone.
In the meantime, 45% of people reported feelings of loneliness at work, almost twice as high in KPMG’s friends at work report From last year. And 81% of employees consider workplace relationships as “crucial of them”.
This year, KPMG 1,019 fully time employees about the relative importance of salary, friends at work, the balance of work and working life, the learning opportunities, corporate culture and the way technology shape the experience of the employees.
The decision of KPMG to examine friendships at the workplace Sandy torchKPMG US VICE Chair for talent and culture, tells Assets.
“Our (2024) survey showed that friendships in the workplace are a undervalued solution for coping with problems such as loneliness, burnout and solution.” Our (2025) survey shows that these problems are not only, but are still more common. ”
The value of friendships at work
Kelsey SzametA lawyer at the workplace at Encino, California, based Kingsley Szamet employment lawyerstold Assets No wonder that some employees would choose a lower payment for working with friends.
Because of their work with customers, “a warm organizational culture for employees will often rank higher compared to simple money wages,” said Szamet. “Working in an atmosphere of trust and friendship can lead to greater commitment and remain longer with a company, even if the salaries are not on the stratospheric level for your own specialist knowledge.”
Erin EatoughCo -founder and Chief Science Officer of the consulting company Fractional insightstold Assets This trend reflects a larger redefinition of the value at work.
“People no longer just optimize income – they optimize for importance, growth and connection,” said Eatough, who uses psychological science while consulting Fortune 500 leaders. She has her Ph.D. In industrial organizational psychology at the University of South Florida.
“We see this in our diagnostics,” she continued. “Workers are increasingly looking for environments in which they feel safe, connected and respected. Friendship is often the most human expression of a culture that made it correctly.”
A current survey with fractional insights also showed that more than 50% of the employees have the feeling of “constantly paying attention to themselves at work”.
“This type of chronic self -protection signals a breakdown of trust and belonging and undermines the motivation and innovation over time,” added Eatough. “Friendships in the workplace can act as a buffer against the loneliness epidemic.”
In the meantime, friendships at work often go beyond superficial connections. Friends can serve as support systems at important times, as if an employee is exposed to discrimination, harassment or retaliation, said Szamet.
Generation envelopes and AI friendships
The poll results of KPMG showed that gen z values in the workplace best of all groups showed. Two thirds of Gen Z would choose a role in the friendship premium, followed by 58% for baby boomers, 57% of millennials and 55% of the gene Xers.
While friendships are valuable across all generations, younger workers rely more on working fans to control mental health and burnout, said Torchia. They also see their working friends as “social connections” and “confidants”, added.
AI has also become a source of camaraderie– for better or bad – for some employees. While 99% of the employees have been interested in a KI chat bot that could become a friend or a trustworthy work companion, 49% said that the technology has made false connections and replaces deep conversations with superficial interactions. Torchia calls this the “large AI paradox”.
Ki “can serve as an instrument to relieve loneliness and at the same time strengthen our hunger for authentic relationships,” she said. “The organizations that win are those who use aspiring technologies such as AI to create more sensible human interactions.”
Eatough said the more we automate, the more precious and more powerful the human connections become.
“If we don’t be careful, we risk developing sterile, extractive jobs to pursue efficiency,” she said. However, if you put people at the top of performance management, communication and rewards, “environments in the AI and the authentic connection can thrive side by side”.
