Are Workplace Friendships a Mixed Blessing? Exploring Tradeoffs of Multiplex Relationships and their Associations with Job Performance

Abstract

Theory and research note the ubiquity of multiplex workplace friendships—multifaceted relationships that superimpose friendship with work‐focused interactions—but it is unclear how they compel or hinder job performance. In a study of insurance company employees (n = 168), we found that the number of multiplex workplace friendships in one's social network is positively associated with supervisor ratings of job performance. However, we also found that there is a negative indirect effect on job performance through emotional exhaustion, which is offset, in part, through enhanced positive affect. Results of a second study of restaurant and retail sales employees (n = 182) provide greater insight into the positive and negative effects of multiplex workplace friendships. Specifically, these relationships enhanced job performance through trust but detracted from job performance through maintenance difficulty. Collectively, our results illustrate that having a large number of multiplex friendships at work is a mixed blessing. Although the provision and restoration of resources fostered by multiplex relationships benefits employee job performance, these benefits are muted somewhat by the personal resources they deplete.

Rested, friendly, and engaged: The role of daily positive collegial interactions at work

“…Individuals may seek out interactions at work for other reasons beyond daily PA, for example, after experiencing NA, incivility, or fulfilling their need to belong. Moreover, even enjoyable interactions can have a negative side due to friendship maintenance responsibilities (Methot et al, ), which may detract from engagement and subsequent performance. Our research only whets the appetite for more research into workplace interactions.…”

“…A further unique feature of this study is the mediating effect of engagement in the relationship between positive interactions at work and recovery experiences. The role of social mechanisms has only recently begun to be recognized (Heaphy & Dutton, 2008;Methot et al, 2016), and, as the current evidence suggests, they are integral in the recovery process.…”

“…Thus, on the basis of COR and B&B, and contributing to the literature on different aspects of positive relationships and connections at work (Methot, LePine, Podsakoff, & Christian, ), we explore the role of morning PA as a personal resource that stimulates individuals to seek out positive collegial interactions. Experiences of positive affective states are associated with an increase in more general social resources (Xanthopoulou et al, ).…”

Keeping up online appearances: How self-disclosure on Facebook affects perceived respect and likability in the professional context

“…However, the social networks connecting the participants could have biased the results. (Fieseler, Meckel, & Ranzini, 2015), or to describe the need for social intranet systems that allow employees to get to know each other professionally and personally (Methot et al 2016).…”

The knife cuts on both sides: Examining the relationship between cross‐domain communication and work–family interface

“…As argued above, the fourth theoretical implication is the consideration of both role response expectations and relationships. Scholars have indicated that not all high‐quality work relationships will guarantee expected and desirable outcomes (Bridge & Baxter, ; Methot, LePine, Podsakoff, & Christian, ). Here, we demonstrate that these conflicting characteristics of relationship quality have joint effects with role response expectations that affect cross‐domain communication and its role in resource loss and gain.…”