Narratives of Workplace Friendship Deterioration

An exploratory examination of workplace friendship deterioration processes was conducted using employees’ narrative accounts of their experiences. Narratives revealed five primary causes of workplace friendship deterioration – personality, distracting life events, conflicting expectations, promotion, and betrayal. Narratives also indicated that individuals relied primarily on indirect communication tactics, including avoidance of nonwork topics in conversation, nonverbal cues, and avoidance of socializing away from the workplace to disengage from workplace friendships. Consequences of workplace friendship deterioration included emotional stress, reduced ability to perform tasks, turnover, and altered perceptions regarding the role of friendships in the workplace. Discussion and suggestions for future research are provided.