Good morning!
A good work friend is hard to find, but some groups are more willing to search than others.
Around 42% of women say they need close friends at work, compared to only 34% of men, according to new data from LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey. And for the most part, women seem to be succeeding; around 56% say they have close friends on the job, compared to 50% of men. Women are also more likely to say they need a mentor—about 46%, compared to just 36% of men. And around 36% of women say they’ve found that mentor, compared to 29% of men.
“We know work friendships can help women feel seen and supported, but they can also help women expand their networks and increase professional growth opportunities,” Catherine Fisher, a career expert at LinkedIn, tells Fortune.
One factor that influences women’s higher rate of work friendships is that they’re overrepresented in industries that favor collaboration, including healthcare and education, according to LinkedIn. But office allies also play an important role for women as they face a more circuitous climb up the corporate ladder. They’re often saddled with the lion’s share of family responsibilities, forcing them to temporarily step away from their careers to care for children or aging parents—so for women, having a friend at work means a bigger network to either return to the office, or find a job somewhere else.
“Women’s careers are impacted at greater rates by life events, like childcare and caregiving responsibilities, resulting in women being two times more likely than men to take a career break,” says Fisher. “Having close friendships at work can again not only provide emotional support during these transitions, but also help women tap into a broader network of connections when they are ready to jump back into the workforce.”
But friendships at the office aren’t just good for workers; they're also important to companies. Having a best friend in the office leads to higher satisfaction rates among employees, and those employees are more likely to recommend their workplace to someone else. And building relationships with colleagues and managers was the top reason that employees gave when asked why they would choose to go back into the office, according to a 2023 survey from Gartner, a research and consulting firm.
So as everyone from the CEO of AirBnB to the surgeon general sounds the alarm over a loneliness crisis—which seems to be hitting men especially hard—bosses should do whatever they can to nurture mentorship and camaraderie among their workers.
Azure Gilman
azure.gilman@fortune.com
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
Today's edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
