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Organizations cannot ask employees to check their emotions and basic human needs at the door. For women and men, work needs to be a place to form friendships and connect with others.

We spend more time at work than at any other location. All employees crave a social outlet. Managers should help foster and create opportunities for employees to forge friendships and get to know one another. Of course, none of us like all people at work the same and we choose who we want to be closer too. The simple premise is people are people and they need to create relationships.

Women have a high need for affiliation. We are all social animals and both men and women want to belong to a community. Approval and affiliation can bring down a girl and a senior executive equally. Friendships are important to women, and they learn the prerequisite of liking other children young in order to play with them. Fast forward to a managerial level: Women feel an immense loyalty to their colleagues. It is common for women to refuse to transfer to another department because of the bond they have with existing peers.

Gallup found that two-thirds of women say the social aspect of a job is the “major reason” why they work, confirming that women’s friendships affect their overall engagement. According to Gallup, slightly more female employees than male employees have thriving social well-being, 38% versus 36%, respectively.

But women who are out of the workplace are doing the best at managing their social well-being. Forty-five percent of women in this group are thriving in this element—7% more than working women. They simply may have more time to devote to social activities.

If organizations want to attract and retain female employees, they have to help employed women lead a life well-lived by encouraging and allowing them to be friends with their peers. Even in 2016 some companies discourage forming friendships at work. Some organizations set policies against friendships with the belief that socialization hinders . Gallup research proves that having a best friend at work can result in “better business outcomes, profitability, safety, inventory control and, most notably customers’ emotional connection and loyalty to the organization.”

In short, companies that discourage or prevent women from being friends only hurt themselves and make it more difficult to retain a competitive workforce.