Millennials and Gen Z are no more likely than older workers to have friends at work, but they are more comfortable converting those real-life relationships into online connections, according to a new Axios|SurveyMonkey poll.
Nearly three-quarters of the workforce (73 percent) say it’s important to have friends at work, with little to no variation by age, sex, or income. Younger workers are those most likely to socialize with coworkers outside of work, with 30 percent of those under 25, 17 percent of those 25-34, 16 percent of those 35-44, and 10 percent or fewer of those 45 and older saying they socialize with coworkers “a lot” outside of work. Nearly three in 10 workers age 45 or older say they don’t socialize with colleagues at all.
While millennials and Gen Z are the most likely to socialize with coworkers in real life outside of work, they’re also the most comfortable connecting with coworkers on social media platforms. Nearly eight in 10 employed 18-24 year-olds say they’re comfortable being friends with coworkers on social media, as do 72 percent of 25-34 year-olds.
In fact, more than half of workers of every age say they’re comfortable being friends with coworkers on social media, reflecting just how much the online world mirrors our actual personal relationships.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Question text:
How important is it to you to have friends at work?
How often do you socialize with coworkers when you’re not working?
On average, how many hours do you work per week?
How many of your current coworkers do you consider to be your friends?
Just your best guess: about what percentage of your friends did you first meet at work?
How comfortable are you connecting with coworkers on social media platforms (excluding professional networking sites like LinkedIn)?
*employees *businesses
