Let’s hear what our colleagues have to say! Of course we don’t like all Some of them (just because you can’t prove that Joanne stole your yogurt doesn’t mean you didn’t know in your heart that she did), but some of them have become our personal and professional favorites.
After all, we see these people all the time.
Even our virtual colleagues are a steady presence in our lives—in meetings, via email, and on chat apps like Slack. Women appear to be more likely than men to seek out and value these relationships, at least according to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence Survey.
The survey was conducted by LinkedIn market researchers, who asked members on the site about their confidence in getting/keeping a job, improving their finances, career advancement and other topics including work friends and mentors.
Among U.S. workers, women not only appear more likely to report have Close friends and mentors at work, but also feel they need them. It should be noted that the difference here is not huge, but it is important. Overall, 56% of women and 50% of men reported having work friends, while 42% of women said they “need” work friends, compared with just 34% of men.
When it comes to mentors, women also appear to be more focused on finding and increasing mentoring opportunities: 36% of women and 29% of men reported having a mentor at work. More importantly, however, 46% of women and 36% of men “need” one.
Considering the survey also noted that women are more likely than men to feel “burned out” and “stuck” at work, it’s understandable that they might seek out others to help them maintain and enhance their careers of.
They’re onto something: According to reports Forbes25% of employees who participated in the coaching program had their pay grade change, compared with only 5% of employees who did not receive coaching. The same report found that mentorship programs benefit not only mentees but also their mentors, and can promote employee retention, diversity and company profitability.
Of course, there’s also the issue of the “old glass ceiling.” (You thought we wouldn’t share news about women in the workplace without providing information That Did you mention it? Although women make up 47% of the workforce, the U.S. share is only slightly higher than the global average (about 37%).
In short, there is work to be done, and perhaps women can get it done with the help of work friends.
