Gallup: Just 2 in 10 U.S. employees have work `best friend’

By LEANNE ITALIE
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A recent Gallup survey says just 2 in 10 adult U.S. employees say they have someone at work they consider a best friend. The number of workers under 35 who have besties dropped by 3 percentage points from pre-pandemic 2019. Gallup surveyed about 16,000 workers. Researcher Jim Harter tells The Associated Press that having a best friend at work has become even more important with the dramatic rise in remote and hybrid work. Work friendships helped people through some tough times during the pandemic. Gallup also found that close work friendships benefit employers. They found a strong link between workers with best friends on the job and profitability, safety, inventory control and retention.