One of the biggest contributors to job satisfaction is the relationship we have with our coworkers. It makes sense: in today’s 24/7 hyperconnected world, we spend many of our waking hours interacting with our colleagues, even on nights and weekends.
In an effort to learn more about these important coworker bonds, Comparably asked thousands of its users to describe their own feelings toward their coworkers. The data, which comes from more than 20,000 employees at small, mid-size, and large public and private companies, was collected between November 2017 and November 2018.
Respondents were asked the following:
- What’s the worst quality a coworker could have?
- Does someone you work with closely make you want to quit your job?
- Do the political views of your coworkers affect your working relationship with them?
- How likely are you to share your compensation with coworkers?
- To whom do you feel most loyal at work?
- Have you ever dated a coworker while both at the same company?
- Do you have a close friend at work?
- How often do you socialize with team members outside of work?
Key findings and methodology below.
A negative personality is the worst quality a coworker could have.
Negativity is considered worse than laziness or arrogance. When asked to choose the worst quality in a coworker, 28% of people chose “negative personality,” making it the most popular response. The second-most popular response was “poor work ethic” (25%). The least popular responses were “entitled or arrogant” (19%), “takes credit for others’ work” (17%), and “disorganized and late” (11%).
People over 50 were the only age group to choose ‘poor work ethic’ as the No. 1 choice. People in all age groups except the 50+ crowd chose “negative personality.” People over age 50 ranked ‘poor work ethic’ first instead (30%), followed next by “negative personality” (26%).
Differences by department. For people in IT jobs, “poor work ethic” was the No. 1 response (26%) and for people in design, “negative personality” was equivalent to “entitled or arrogant” (25%). In every other department measured, the top choice was “negative personality.”
Men and women share the same views. There were no major differences in how men and women ranked what they consider the worst qualities in a coworker.
Response was the same for people of all ethnicities. There were no major differences in how people of varying ethnicities ranked what they consider the worst qualities in a coworker.
Younger workers are more likely to quit because of a coworker.
Patience comes with time. Generation Z (ages 18 to 25) had the highest percentage of people who say they work with someone who makes them want to quit their job (38%). The rate declined gradually from there, hitting a low of 34% among 51 to 55-year-olds.
Women slightly more likely to want to quit because of a coworker. Men and women revealed similar responses, though women had a slightly higher percentage of respondents who say they work with someone who makes them want to quit their job.
Asian/Pacific Islander respondents least likely to want to quit because of a coworker. Thirty-one percent of Asian/Pacific Islander respondents say they work with someone who makes them want to quit their job, the lowest of any ethnic group. African Americans had the highest rate, at 39%.
Design most likely to want to quit; HR least likely. From a department perspective, respondents in design were most likely to want to quit because of a coworker (42%) while HR respondents were least likely (18%).
Generation Z is the least tolerant of their coworkers’ political views
People 18 to 25 most affected by the political views of their coworkers. When asked whether the political views of their coworkers affect their working relationships, 35% of people in Generation Z (ages 18 to 25) said yes, the most of any age group.
Millennials (ages 26 to 35) were next after Gen Z, with 27% of respondents saying their coworkers’ politics affect their working relationships.
The most tolerant workers were between 46 and 50: just 18% of them said that their coworkers’ political views affect their working relationships.
Overall, 3 out of 4 are unfazed by their coworkers’ views. On average, 75% of people say their coworkers political views don’t have an impact on their working relationships.
Respondents in California and Florida least tolerant of their coworkers’ political views. Riverside, California, had the highest percentage of people who said that their coworkers’ political views affect their working relationships (67%). Fort Lauderdale was next at 46%.
Phoenix (28%) and Minneapolis (21%) had the lowest percentages of people (81%) who said their coworkers’ political views affect their working relationships.
By ethnicity. Caucasian respondents were least likely to say their coworkers’ political views affect their working relationships (22%), while those who identify as Hispanic/Latino or African American were least likely to say the same (29% and 33%, respectively).
It’s becoming less taboo for people to reveal their salary to their coworkers.
Changing norms. Millennials (26 to 35) and Gen Z (18 to 25), who make up most of the workforce, are more transparent than previous generations about discussing their salary with their coworkers.
For example, 31% of people between the ages of 18 and 25 said they are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to discuss their salary with their coworkers, while another 29% said “it depends.”
The rates among people between the ages of 41 and 45, on the other hand, were much slimmer: 14% said they are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to discuss their salary with their coworkers, and another 22% said “it depends.”
There was no major difference between men and women. The results were the same between men and women.
From a department perspective. People in admin were least likely to reveal their salary to their coworkers, while people in business development were most likely.
People are more loyal to their coworkers than to anyone else.
A relationship defined by loyalty. When asked whom they feel most loyal to, 35% of respondents chose “coworkers,” making it the most popular answer out of the group.
The next most-popular answer was “boss or manager” (24%). The least popular response was “direct reports.”
No difference from a gender perspective. Men and women ranked their choices equally.
The youngest and oldest workers were surprisingly similar in their choices. There were no significant differences in the way the youngest and oldest respondents ranked their choices: coworkers and boss/manager were nearest to the top, with the remaining vote split between “direct reports,” “company mission,” and “no one.”
1 in 4 people say they have dated a coworker.
A common occurrence. Twenty-six percent of men and 27% of women say they have dated a coworker.
From a diversity perspective. 30% of African American respondents say they have dated a coworker, the highest of any ethnic group. Asian/Pacific Islander respondents were least likely to say they have dated a coworker (18%).
The highest percentage is among people nearing 40. People aged 36 to 40 had the highest rates of saying they’ve dated a coworker (29%), though the range was very tight between people of all age groups (25% at the low end, 29% at the high end).
Women slightly more likely to have a BFF at work
55% of women say they have a close friend at work. Fifty-five percent of women say they have a close friend at work, just slightly more than the 51% of men who say the same.
Age matters. People 18 to 30 had the highest rates of saying they have a close friend at work. The rate dropped from there, hitting a low of 43% among people 51 to 55.
African Americans report the lowest rates of having a close friend at work. The rate was 48% among African American respondents, 52% among Hispanic/Latino respondents, 52% among Caucasian respondents, and 54% among Asian/Pacific Islander respondents.
People over 40 don’t socialize with their coworkers much.
Count me out. The rate of people who ‘never’ socialize with their coworkers is 33% among people 41 to 45; 37% among people 46 to 50; and 39% among people 51 to 55.
Social butterflies. People 18 to 25 were most social, with 18% going out “multiple times a week” and 22% going out “once a week” with their coworkers.
Men vs. women. Men and women were almost identical in their responses.
‘Multiple times a week’ was the least popular response among people of all ethnicities. The responses were similar among people of all ethnicities. There were some slight differences: Asian/Pacific Islanders and Caucasians appeared to socialize with their coworkers least often, while African Americans, Hispanic/Latino respondents, and those who identify as “other” socialize with their coworkers more often.
Methodology
The data comes from the online responses of 22,039 Comparably.com users. Respondents hail from across 50,000 U.S.-based small, mid-size, and large companies (VC-funded, privately-held, and public). Questions were in Yes/No and multiple-choice format. A total of eight survey questions were included. Each survey was initiated sometime between November 2017 and November 2018. Results are as of November 6, 2018. People of all ages, educational backgrounds, ethnicities, and experience levels were included.
About Comparably
Comparably is an online career destination for compensation and workplace culture data with a mission to make work dramatically more transparent and rewarding. Employees can anonymously and publically rate their company culture and access salary data through the lens of specific demographics, including gender, ethnicity, age, location, years of experience, company size, title/department, and education. With the most comprehensive and structured data in the industry, it has accumulated 10 million ratings and hundreds of thousands of salary records by employees at 50,000 U.S. companies, from startups to Fortune 500 businesses. The company’s data-driven approach has quickly made it a trusted media resource for salary and workplace culture, and one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding. For more information, go to Comparably.com. For workplace culture and salary studies, including Comparably’s annual Best Places to Work and Best CEOs awards, go to Comparably.com/blog.
