The friendship bonus: a majority of people would exchange 20% salary to work with close friends, according to a KPMG survey

Workers are looking for the company so much, in fact, the results of the survey published Tuesday with the audit, tax and advice company KPMG show that 57% would choose a role with a salary of 10% below the market value to work with friends on work with a salary of 10% on the market without narrow friendships.

This “friendship premium” effectively values labor relations at 20% of someone’s salary, according to KPMG.

Meanwhile, 45% of people reported feelings of loneliness in the workplace, which increased by the Friends at work from KPMG from last year. And 81% of workers plan to have labor relationships as “extremely important importance”.

This year, KPMG questioned 1,019 full -time employees about the relative importance of salary, friends at work, balance between professional and private life, learning opportunities, corporate culture and the way technology is shaping employees’ experiences.

KPMG’s decision to explore friendships at the workplace has been motivated by the growing recognition that human connection is essential to commercial success, Sandy Torchia, vice-president of talent and KPMG culture, said Sandy Torchia Fortune.

“Our survey (2024) has revealed that friendships at the workplace are a undervalued solution to solve problems such as loneliness, professional exhaustion and disengagement-increasingly obvious calculations in today’s workforce,” she said. “Our investigation (2025) indicates that these problems persist not only but become even more widespread.”

The value of friendships at work

Kelsey Szamet, lawyer in the workplace for Kingsley Szamet employed lawyers, based in California, said Fortune It is not surprising that some employees choose a lower salary to work with friends.

Based on his work with customers, “a warm organizational culture will often rank above for employees compared to a simple monetary salary,” said Szamet. “Working in an atmosphere of trust and friendship can lead to a greater commitment and stay longer in a single company, even if wages are not at the stratospheric level for its expertise.”

Etrin Eatough, co -founder and head of sciences of the Fractional Insights consulting company, said Fortune This trend reflects a greater redefinition of value at work.

“People no longer optimize income – they optimize meaning, growth and connection,” said Eatough, who uses psychological sciences while consulting the leaders of fortune 500. She won her doctorate. In industrial-organizational psychology of the University of Southern Florida.

“We see it in our diagnoses,” she continued. “Workers are looking for more and more environments where they feel safe, connected and respected. Friendship is often the most human expression of a culture that has done things well. ”

A recent survey on split information has also shown that more than 50% of employees believe that they should “turn constantly for themselves at work”.

“This kind of chronic self-protection signals a break in trust and belonging and erodes motivation and innovation over time,” added Eatough. “Friendships in the workplace can act as a stamp against the loneliness epidemic.”

Meanwhile, friendships in the workplace often go beyond superficial connections. Friends can serve as supporting systems at important moments such as an employee is faced with discrimination, harassment or reprisals, said Szamet.

Generational and friendship of AI

The results of the KPMG survey revealed that the values of generation Z of the friendships as a maximum of all groups. Two-thirds of generation Z would choose a role with the friendship bonus, followed by 58% for baby boomers, 57% of millennials and 55% of generation X.

Although friendships are precious in all generations, young workers are counting more on work friends to navigate mental health and professional exhaustion, said Torchia. They are also more likely to consider their work friends as “social connectors” and “confidants”, she added.

The AI has also become a company source – for better or for worse – for some workers. While 99% of workers said they were interested in an AI chatbot who could become a friend or a work companion, according to KPMG, 49% said that technology created false connections and replaces deep conversations with superficial interactions. Torchia calls this the “great paradox of AI”.

AI “can serve as a tool to help alleviate loneliness while amplifying our hunger of authentic relationships,” she said. “Winning organizations are those that take advantage of emerging technology like AI to create more significant human interactions, no less.”

Eatough said that the more us, the more precious and powerful human connections become.

“If we are not paying attention, we risk designing sterile and extractive workplaces in pursuit of efficiency,” she said. But placing humans at the forefront of performance management, communication and awards can “create environments where AI and authentic connection thrive side by side”.