It can take months to build a bond with a co-worker, but once that bond is in place, you'll be suddenly inseparable.
They'll likely be saved in your phone as work wife or hubby, you'll always take lunch at the same time, pair up on projects and only go to the work social if the other is too.
But now, research has shown working alongside your work pal will make you less productive.
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Dr Sangyoon Park, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Hong Kong, reviewed worker's productivity at a seafood processing plant in Vietnam.
He took notes on which workers were friends with whom and how friendly they were outside of working hours.
Dr Park explained that he had assigned workers to different workstations, within varying proximity to friends and each workstation had a capacity of four people.
The results spoke for themselves, with workers six per cent less productive when working next to their friends.
It did however show that the decline only came when friends were stationed next to each other, but not when opposite - no doubt because it was an easier position to socialise in.
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We're hardly surprised at the result, friends can be a smidge distracting after all.
And in an office setting that is probably even more true, since all that time spent Facebook stalking the new recruit and LOLing over the work party drinks isn't technically productive.
Although it does a lot to lift the spirits and there's a lot to be said for a happy office environment.
Plus, having workers who get along well in the office is better in terms of how long staff will stay with a company.
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Dr Park noted past research which showed people who have friends at work stay there longer, as well as learning more skills along the way.
The research only involved women however, as only ladies worked at the processing plant, so the results may have differed had men been included in the research.
As for us, we wouldn't be without our work wifey or a bit of daily banter. Sorry boss!
Featured Image Credit: Netflix