We recently had the pleasure of hosting Bruce Daisley on one of our webinars with The EX Space. If you didn’t join us make sure you catch up here. I am a huge fan of Bruce’s work, and his newsletter is one that I always make a point of reading, they are packed full of latest thinking and insights.
One of the key themes he talked about on the webinar involved friendship at work. Bruce shared a lovely quote from a poet called David Whyte:
‘friendship is the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of having been granted the sight of the essence of another’
This focus on friendship at work was prompted by a review of the data from the 2023 Global Workplace report from Gallup
Those of you familiar with Gallup’s Q12 survey will know that one of the questions on their survey is ‘I have a best friend at work’. Their research finds that those who agree that they do have a best friend at work are x7 more likely to be engaged.
To be honest I have always struggled with this question. It feels quite judgemental, and I have met many people throughout my career who would report that they don’t have a best friend at work but who are very happy and engaged. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you need a best friend at work to be engaged?
When People Lab conducted research into what makes a great experience at work, having a ‘best friend’ did not come out as a key theme. But what did come out were themes around meaningful relationships, connecting with others and feeling like you belong. Clearly having human connections at work matters, but many of us wouldn’t phrase this as having a best friend at work. If you would like to find out more about this research check out our EX Lens model and if you are a member of The EX Space you can access the diagnostic that goes alongside the EX Lens model. And if you would like to chat through ways to improve your employee experience and engagement we’d love to hear from you.
@Emma
