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For decades, many people have been spending their days with office colleagues rather than family. That’s why it’s important to develop good relationships with colleagues, says career and career consultant Jürg Enderli (58) from Zurich. “This relationship is one of the most important factors that decide whether you stay or leave the company.”
However, according to Enderli, the question of how close the relationship between colleagues should ideally be is difficult to answer.
At best, colleagues understand each other blindly, trust each other, and can rely on each other. “Such a relationship increases productivity, work motivation and commitment to work,” says Enderli. In the USA, a special term has been created for such a close business relationship: “Work Spouse”. In German we talk about office marriage.
Relationship without filter and sex
Such an office marriage, like a marriage, is based on close intimacy and partnership – but it is completely platonic, meaning it is not romantic, there is no intimacy and no sex. In a study on the subject in 2017, US communication scientists Karla Bergen and Chad McBride wrote: Unlike normal, more functional relationships in the workplace, changes in office marriages are not filtered. You show yourself to the other person without pretending, just like in an ideal marriage.
According to McBride and Berger, office marriage is unlikely to jeopardize existing marriages or romantic relationships. In fact, both researchers came to the opposite conclusion: Those who had someone they could trust unconditionally at work were found to be more comfortable in their private lives. Work-life balance is better and stress is reduced. And therefore, in a real marriage, arguments at home are less likely.
Until termination do us part
Office marriages are common in the business world. Surveys conducted in Austria and Great Britain showed that approximately 20 percent of all employees have this practice. Career counselor Enderli says that the positive effects of office marriage outweigh the negative effects. However, he points out: “If two colleagues form very strong relationships with each other in their working lives, it can affect the group dynamics within the company.” Enderli also experiences many times that employees quit their jobs just because their spouses in the office quit. “In these cases, the business can become too dependent on good interpersonal relationships.” The problem is that it is difficult to control how long you work, in what form and with whom you work.
But Enderli emphasizes how important good relationships are in the workplace: “When people look at the best aspects of their past jobs, they almost always talk about the friendships that formed as a result.”
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
