If you like the people you work with, you probably also like your job and your company. If you don’t like them, or if relationships are tense or disrespectful, chances are you don’t look forward to getting up every day to go to work. And it isn’t just that it makes us happy to belong and to have friends. Good relationships lead to good outcomes. This is just as true at work as it is in our families, neighborhoods, and tribes.
We want to feel safe to be ourselves, we want to enjoy one another, and we want to like people at work. We also want them to like us. When we feel cared for—even loved, as one does in a friendship—and when we belong to a group that matters to us, we are generous with our time and talents because we’re committed to people, not just the job or the company. Friendships—not instrumental, task-oriented relationships—are at the heart of a company’s resonant culture, the kind of culture that supports risk-taking, innovation, and results.
Take this short quiz to see how hope and optimism impact your happiness at work. A series of statements will be presented to you, and you’ll be asked to answer what you think is true for you. “Almost always” means that you agree with the statement, while “almost never” means that you disagree.
