"When faced with a work-related problem many people will prioritize their friendship over their responsibilities to their organization, which businesses may find concerning," said psychologist and Auckland University of Technology lecturer, Dr Rachel Morrison.

"Workplace friendships are like a double-edged sword. The benefits of a friendly workplace can be really positive, but organizations should be aware of the potential difficulties and how to manage friendships at work."

According to the study, many people were concerned about going `softer' with their friends and being expected to treat them with special privileges.

"People naturally want to make their friends feel special, but this conflicts with organizational practices or norms that are set up around fairness and equality. Difficulty in managing these expectations can create tension in the relationship."

Respondents also experienced a great deal of anxiety about speaking to close friends about substandard work. A basic rule of friendship is being non-judgemental and accepting your friends' weaknesses, but giving critical performance feedback conflicts with this.

"We also found issues related to confidentiality practices, which could mean friends have to refrain from sharing information. This can be really challenging for close friendships that have norms of openness and disclosure," Dr Morrison said.

Dr. Morrison said organisations should try to provide friendly environments and encourage workplace friendships, but have policies in place to manage potential difficulties.

The research was undertaken online with 230 respondents.

一项针对职场人际关系的调查发现，在同事中有个好朋友可能会成为影响工作的一个主要因素。

受访者认为，两人过度闲聊、玩得过了头、分不清工作和娱乐是导致工作时注意力不集中的主要因素。

奥克兰科技大学讲师、心理学家雷切尔·莫里森博士说：“在工作中遇到问题时，很多人会把友谊置于他们的责任之上，这可能是单位担忧的主要问题。”

“职场友谊就像一把双刃剑。工作单位友好团结，绝对是件好事，但单位要意识到这种现象的潜在问题以及如何管理好这种友谊。”

据调查，很多人都有过要对朋友“温柔一点”的想法，而且他们的朋友也希望能从他们那得到特殊照顾。

“大家都想让自己的朋友受到特殊对待，这很自然，但这违背了用人单位在公平公正基础上建立起来的制度和规范。处理不好这种问题会造成人际关系的紧张。”

受访者表示，与好朋友谈论自己工作不达标的问题时心里也感到十分不安。友谊的一个基本原则是不评判朋友、接受他的缺点，而对朋友的工作表现提出批评性的反馈意见则与此相矛盾。

莫里森博士说：“我们还发现了与‘保密工作’有关的问题，也就是说，有些信息朋友之间是不能共享的。这对于好朋友之间来说确实是个挑战，因为按常理来说，好朋友之间不该有秘密。”

莫里森博士说，用人单位应为员工营造友好的工作环境，鼓励大家交朋友，但同时应制定相应的处理潜在问题的规定。