Annotated Bibliography APA Reference Summary

Azar, B. (n.d.). Friends and co-workers. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2012/01/relationships.aspx

Choose 3 most important interesting arguments/facts/quotations mentioned, which you could potentially cite in your project.

This article uses multiple sources of research to focus on two different aspects of friendly relationships within the workplace. The first aspect is that having a friendship with a colleague can be beneficial by increasing job satisfaction and productivity. The second aspect is that friendly relationships can have negative outcomes which will ultimately effect ones satisfaction with their job. Putnam is wise to try to walk the line between supervisor and friend research shows that workplace friendships can increase job satisfaction, productivity and job commitment while decreasing stress and turnover (Azar). But workplace friendships can have drawbacks, according to research by organizational psychologist Rachel Morrison, PhD, of the Auckland University of Technology. In one study published in 2007 in the University of Auckland Business Review, Morrison surveyed 445 workers representing a large variety of industries. When prompted to describe examples of how a friendly workplace relationship made their work more difficult, more than 200 respondents shared stories of workplace friendships blurring boundaries, distracting employees and hampering productivity (Azar). In a 2005 study she published in Communications Studies, she surveyed 190 employees at a large public university about the quality of work-related information employees receive, the quality of supervisorsubordinate and peer co-worker relationships, job satisfaction and job commitment. She found that co-workers share work-related information more quickly and more accurately the more collegial their relationships, whether they were talking with peers, supervisors or subordinates. In addition, the better the workplace relationships, the better informed

people were about workplace issues and the more satisfied they were with their jobs (Azar). Key Findings or results from the article (list 3-5)
Friendships that are built between coworkers can have positive outcomes that will benefit each person and the quality of their work. Friendships within the workplace can be complicated and problematic ultimately resulting in dissatisfaction. If one plans on building friendly relationships with coworkers, be clear about the boundaries that should be established.