Don’t Underestimate the Value of Professional Friendships

For decades, executives have repeated the truism “It’s not personal, it’s business,” implying that emotional distance is a hallmark of professionalism. But that logic is badly outdated, especially now that employees are spending more of their waking lives at work than with family or non-work friends, and the post-pandemic world has left many professionals more isolated than ever. The former U.S. Surgeon General has warned of an “epidemic of loneliness,” with profound consequences for workplace productivity, engagement, and retention, to say nothing of almost one million premature deaths worldwide each year.