Workplace friendships of men and women: examining employee gender, manager gender and gender composition in European workplaces

Purpose The study investigates gender differences in workplace friendships, focusing on the number of friends, the gender of friends and the extent of same-gender friendships accounting for workplace characteristics shaping these differences. Design/methodology/approach We used three-level data (employees nested in departments and organizations) from six different sectors across nine countries and multilevel mixed-effects models to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that women have more workplace friends than men. Given sufficient opportunities, both men and women prefer same-gender workplace friendships. Moreover, when having a manager of the same gender, not only men but also women have significantly more same-gender workplace friends. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of workplace friendships by employing unique data from 2,620 employees across various organizations and different sectors. Additionally, it provides insights into how organizational contexts can shape friendship networks among employees and gender dynamics therein.