What would you do if a co-worker or “work friend” stood in the way of your corner office? If you’re like most millennials, you’d throw your co-worker under the bus. At least that is what a new LinkedIn study found.
LinkedIn recently conducted a study examining the way professionals view work relationships. About 68 percent of millennials surveyed said that they would sacrifice a work relationship in order to get a promotion, compared to 62 percent of baby boomers who “said they would never even consider it,” Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
That’s not to say that millennials don’t see the value in workplace friendships. Many said that workplace friendships make them feel “happy” (57 percent), “motivated” (50 percent), and “productive” (39 percent).
But millennials are more pragmatic about workplace friendships than baby boomers, which perhaps accounts for their readiness to toss co-workers overboard. The survey found that one-third of millennials think socializing with colleagues helps them move up the career ladder. Only 5 percent of baby boomers felt the same way.
But before millennials discard their work friends, they use them as free therapists. The study found that 67 percent of millennials share personal information, such as family and relationship issues, with co-workers, compared to only one-third of baby boomers. Apparently, work friends who confide in each other don’t necessarily stay together.
