Having a person you like at work is great; and not only because you have someone to share work-related memes with. According to Associate Professor at MacEwan University, Dr. Tiffany Kriz, “Liking [people] at work can make a substantial difference in how a person experiences work—and even life—on a daily basis, contributing to more positive emotions at work and a sense of flourishing.”

In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the expert pointed out that some people will always see work as transactional and won’t be focused on developing relationships with colleagues, however, some of the others might.

“I think more have realized that how, where, and with whom they spend their time makes a difference in how they experience life, and they apply that philosophy to the workplace just as they would any other area in life,” she said. “People have a fundamental need to connect with other people, and our loneliness levels suggest we need those connections more now than ever before.”

Another expert, Associate Professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, Dr. Peter J. Robertson emphasized that positive relationships between employees can benefit not only them but the workplace itself, too.

“Research on organizational commitment indicates that there are three types of commitment experienced by employees, one of which is called affiliation commitment (because it is based on the positive relationships employees have with the other people they work with). Some research suggests that affiliation commitment is a stronger predictor of organizational citizenship behavior (for example, prosocial or pro-organizational behavior), which contributes to more effective organizational performance.”

According to Dr. Robertson, over the last few decades, organizations have become more “team-based” in that they are using teams for lots of different kinds of purposes. “For this reason, there has also been increased attention to the importance of effectively managing interpersonal relationships and group dynamics,” he pointed out.

“As one example, the concept of emotional intelligence has become quite popular, reflecting the fact that being able to effectively manage one's own and others' emotions is key to being an effective manager or leader, and an important capacity for groups and organizations to have.”

Discussing the importance of being able to connect with fellow coworkers, Dr. Robertson suggested that such connections are important on several levels. It is important not only in an emotional sense but from a professional point of view as well (especially since challenges come with lots of ambiguity and complexity), as conversations with coworkers can be critical to the collective sensemaking processes that are needed to help people figure out the best ways of dealing with those challenges.

In our recent interview, Dr. Kriz pointed out that being able to relate to fellow colleagues can facilitate sharing emotions with them (which can enhance individual and team resilience) and build a solid bond; in some cases, even lead to forming workplace friendships.

“Gallup surveys regularly show that having a best friend at work impacts work engagement, as well as how much people enjoy their work and their likelihood to look for another job. Interestingly, their results suggest the impact of having a best friend at work became even stronger during the pandemic.”

In addition to other people, individuals can also relate to content that depicts situations they are well familiar with. “People have long resonated with funny and relatable work-related content, whether through comic strips (for example, Dilbert), movies (Office Space), or shows (The Office). So it’s no surprise that this trend is carried on now in social media,” Dr. Kriz said.

“In a professional environment, you can’t always talk about the quirky or frustrating observations directly with colleagues. This kind of content on social media can help fill the gaps in providing comedic relief and a sense of relatedness around those shared experiences.”

According to Dr. Robertson, online content that people can relate to does more than just provide a much-needed giggle. “In general, humor is good, so keeping things light can usually be beneficial,” he told Bored Panda. “But such social media content can also point to the kinds of problems or dysfunctions that often characterize the workplace, and in that sense, can have a consciousness-raising effect if it makes people more aware of these issues and even more willing to make the changes needed to improve the situation.”