Having good relationships with work colleagues is very important in a workplace. I believe it is essential to every business as it helps the business run more smoothly. If you have no relationship with your colleagues, your workplace can become very boring and repetitive. It could also make you dread getting up in the morning to go to work.

According to psychologists Sigmund Freud, John Donne, and Abraham Maslow “Having meaningful friendships at work are a psychological necessity”.

Here are their reasons:

• It increases emotional well-being
• More job satisfaction
• Increased trust
• Effective teamwork
• Additional support system
• Increases concentration and productivity
• Decreases work related anxiety

Some people may argue that you should keep your private life and work life separate, so you have a good “work-life balance”. To some extent, I agree. I agree that not all personal matters should be discussed during work hours with your colleagues, however, opening up to your colleagues can help you develop great friendships. In fact, LinkedIn’s study of ‘relationships at work’ discovered that 67% of millennial’s are likely to share personal details including relationships and family issues with co-workers. This can really benefit you in many ways. It can bring you closer to your colleagues to help you develop and pick up on certain skills as you can learn great skills from being close and around others.