Are workplace friendships a good thing? A Randstad Work Watch survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers suggests they are: 67% of employees in the survey said that having friends on the job makes work more enjoyable; 55% said that friendships make their job more satisfying.

Employees do see the potential downside. Forty-four percent said that workplace friendships feed gossip, and 37% worried that they encourage favoritism; 35% said friendships can lead to conflicts of interest. But in the end, only 12% of workers said that making friends at work was a risk.