Some of the interesting findings from LinkedIn's study:
- 67% of millennials are likely to share personal details including salary, relationships and family issues with co-workers, compared to only about one third of baby boomers.
- 46% of professionals worldwide believe that work friends are important to their overall happiness.
- 51% stay in touch with former colleagues
To me, one of the more staggering statistics is: 33% of millennials vs only 5% of baby boomers think socializing with colleagues helps them move up the career ladder.
Making a connection at work is not always easy -- in some cases, the process may help your career, just not in the way you thought. I had a job where the work environment wasn't the best, but our small team was tight-knit and we truly enjoyed each others' company; that made all the difference in getting through the day-to-day.
Making sure employees and team members are happy, or at least feel valued, is integral to a company's success. It seems to me, if a company makes the effort to help employees succeed, employees are more likely to care (beyond earning their paycheck) about the company's success and mission.


This morning I read about a scavenger hunt involving over 1,500 business people. Teams download an app to their smartphone and then use it to navigate through the challenges ahead of them including trivia, photos, and checkpoints; results are immediately available and photos can be downloaded. Aside from sounding like a lot of fun, I think these outings are great because in addition to fostering team skills hands-on, the common experiences and the memories give employees a foundation on which to build friendships.
What have you done to team-build or develop friendships at work?