Ellerman, Jennifer S., and Kleiner, Brian H. "How to establish rapport with others."
Some researchers have noted that one of the best protections a worker can have for dealing with work-related stress is a strong family and social system outside of work (Dunseath, et. al., DATE). Ellerman, et. al., looked at the benefits in a workplace where the workers have established strong and stable friendships with coworkers. The authors take an unusual approach to evaluating the issue compared to other research read -- basic psychology such as our use of our five senses. They also note that workplaces as a whole establish their own kind of "personality" or group gestalt of how people interact, which may be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. They note that theses preferred ways of communicating are supported by the language used. They make the somewhat obvious observation that people tend to like people who are like themselves.
We can see what the authors are talking about in everyday life. When two adults meet who have never met each other before, often the conversation immediately moves to looking for places of commonality. They may each tell where they went to high school, or what neighborhood they grew up with, whether they have children, what sports or sports teams they cheer for, etc. They are looking for commonalities. People sometimes form an almost instant rapport with someone else, a feeling of warmth toward the person along with a desire to know more about him or her.
People who become friends at work are less likely to experience friction between themselves during stressful times on the job. The issue of rapport between co-workers is a serious issue in the workplace, because we also celebrate diversity in the workplace, which means that people with very different backgrounds will be working together. Perhaps employers should actively work to bring people together so they can have more opportunities to establish a rapport and the beginnings of friendship with each other. People from divergent backgrounds can become friends but they may have to work a little harder to find the commonalities between them.
