Lauren and Whitney had it made, TBH
If you have a work wife, you should be pretty happy about it – and not just because you have a pal to get you through dull meetings and painful team building days.
Research has suggested that those with an office BFF are actually happier, with people saying that their friendship has ‘improved their work and made them more productive’.
Professors from Nebraska’s Creighton University also found that employees were more loyal to their companies because of their relationship.
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It was communications studies professor Chad McBride and Karla Mason Bergen – now an assistant professor of communication studies at the College of Saint Mary – who conducted the research.
In 2015, their online survey of 276 people defined a work spouse relationship as a ‘special, platonic friendship with a work colleague characterised by a close emotional bond, high levels of disclosure and support, and mutual trust, honesty, loyalty, and respect’.
Basically, this relationship is more intense than other workplace friendships and shares some characteristics with marriage, but (obvs) doesn’t include the romantic part.
And it seems a whole lot of us have a work spouse. According to a survey by Office Pulse, 70% of workers said they had one in 2015, up from 65% in 2010 and 32% in 2006.
In McBride and Bergen’s study, participants talked about how they and their work wife shared similar personality traits, such as a sense of humour and intelligence. They also tended to feel a high level of trust and support from them.
Aw. Let’s raise a glass to our work wives, eh?
The post Why Having A Work Wife Is Great For Your Career (And Happiness) appeared first on Look Magazine.