Friendship Premium: Most people trade 20% on their pay and work with close friends, according to KPMG survey
Workers are very eager to find out what was released on Tuesday by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG Show.
According to KPMG, this “Friendship Premium” effectively evaluates workplace relationships at 20% of someone’s salary.
Meanwhile, 45% of people reported loneliness at work, almost doubled from their KPMG workplace friends Report Since last year. Additionally, 81% of workers consider workplace relationships to be “very important.”
This year, KPMG investigated 1,019 full-time employees about the relative importance of pay, workplace friends, work-life balance, learning opportunities and corporate culture.
KPMG’s decision to explore workplace friendship was driven by a growing awareness that human connection is essential to business success. Sandie TorchiaVice-chairman of KPMG US Talent and Culture, luck.
“Our (2024) study revealed that workplace friendship is an underrated solution to address issues such as loneliness, burnout, and departure. “Our (2025) study shows that these issues are not only sustained, but are becoming even more common.”
The value of friendship at work
Kelsey Zameta workplace lawyer based in Encino, California. Kingsley Sammet Employment AttorneyI said luck It’s no wonder that some employees choose low pay to work with friends.
Based on working with clients, “a warm organizational culture often has more employees than simple monetary wages,” Szamet said. “Working in an atmosphere of trust and friendship leads to greater commitment and allows you to stay longer in one company, even if your salary is not at the stratospheric level due to expertise.”
Erin Eatouco-founder and chief science officer of advisory company; Fractional InsightsI said luck This trend reflects a greater redefine of workplace value.
“People are no longer optimizing for income. They are optimizing for meaning, growth and connection,” says Eatough, who uses psychological science while consulting with Fortune 500 leaders. She received her PhD. in industrial organizational psychology from the University of South Florida.
“I’m seeing this in the diagnosis,” she continued. “Workers increasingly want an environment in which they feel safe, connected and respected. Friendship is often the most human expression of the right culture.”
A recent fractional insight survey also showed that over 50% of employees feel that they have to “always be careful about themselves at work.”
“Such chronic self-protection shows a breakdown of trust and belongings, which erodes motivation and innovation over time,” Eatough added. “Workplace friendships can serve as a buffer against the solitude epidemic.”
Meanwhile, workplace friendships often go beyond superficial connections. Friends can serve as support systems at critical times, such as when employees face discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Generation collapse and AI friendship
KPMG findings found that workplace friendships are the most of all groups. Two-thirds of Gen Z choose roles in Friendship Premium, followed by 58% of baby boomers, 57% of millennials and 55% of Gen Xers.
Friendship is valuable across all generations, but Torquia said young workers rely more heavily on their work friends to navigate mental health and burnout. They are also likely to consider work friends as “social connectors” and “confidents,” she added.
AI is also a source of dating– For better or worse – for some workers. KPMG said 99% of workers reported interest in AI chatbots that could become friends and trustworthy workmates, while 49% said technology creates false connections and replaces deep conversations with superficial interactions. Torquia calls this the “great AI paradox.”
AI “may serve as a tool to amplify hunger for real relationships while reducing loneliness,” she said. “A winning organization is not about leveraging emerging technologies like AI to generate fewer human interactions.”
Eatough said the more automated it, the more valuable and powerful human connections arise.
“If we’re not careful, we risk designing an infertility extraction workplace in pursuit of efficiency,” she said. However, by placing humans at the forefront of performance management, communication and rewards, we can “create an environment where both AI and authentic connections thrive side by side.”