Friendships are powerful and positive – especially friendships between members of historically marginalized groups like women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals. In a paper recently published by the journal Human Resource Development Review, lead author Kristi Kaeppel ’20 Ph.D., a graduate assistant with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; adjunct professor of philosophy at UConn Stamford and School of Business academic advisor Emma Björngard-Basayne ’15 MA, ’18 Ph.D.; and Grenier argue that workplaces that value and promote friendships can enhance the well-being of their workforce – to the benefits of both the individuals and the institutions.

We call them our colleagues, our peers, our mentors, or our coworkers – they are the people in our professional lives that also share in the details of our personal lives, who we associate with voluntarily, and who we trust with our thoughts, our experiences, and our fears.

Outside of work, we might call these relationships “friendships,” but it’s rarer to hear that particular f-word at the office – and the reason has to do with more than just semantics.

More recently, research in academia this year led the authors to conclude that “we contend that women’s friendships allow women to thrive by meeting core psychological needs that are threatened in a marginalized work environment.” The role of a female academic’s female friendships are crucial in helping them counter and navigate the masculine culture of academia.