The Business of Friendship

Many professionals experience loneliness, an epidemic that has a significant impact on their health and careers. Friendship expert Shasta Nelson shows how we can develop meaningful, lasting friendships where we spend the majority of our time--at work. Since the 1980s, the rate of loneliness among adults has doubled from 20% to 40%. Loneliness has been proven not only to contribute to health issues and unhappiness, but also to impact workplace productivity, employee retention, innovation, and the company's profitability. Research has shown that loneliness in the workplace can lead to an increase of absenteeism by nearly 37%, and a 16% decrease in profitability with a 65% decrease in share price over time. By not encouraging workplace friendships, companies and managers are missing out on a crucial opportunity to foster an inclusive and engaging environment where employees are more likely to want to spend the majority of their time. Rather than losing productivity, workplaces where friendships are encouraged create more opportunities for collaboration and teamwork. Employees are also losing out. Not only are they passing up the opportunity to foster friendships that will follow them long after the job is over, but they are missing out on collaborative experiences and networking opportunities that could lead to landing better and high-profile projects that are more likely to result in promotions and better career opportunities. But it doesn't have to be this way. Friendship expert Shasta Nelson inspires readers to see why friendship is crucial to their health and their careers, and teaches them how to develop the healthy and appropriate friendships that can benefit them and their organizations. Through her research and practical guidance, she Teaches the 3 Relationship Requirements necessary in all friendships and teams Helps managers and employees assess the health of their relationships and learn ways to repair and improve them Provides guidelines and principles for all relationships, including those with our bosses, toxic coworkers, and potential romantic attractions Friendships are a powerful tool that can be employed for businesspeople to find the success they have dreamed of and for companies to build productive workplaces with dedicated employees.