{"id":3328,"date":"2025-07-08T15:51:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T15:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aomtodayprod.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=3328"},"modified":"2025-07-08T15:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T15:51:53","slug":"10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Land Mines of Workplace Friendships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/author\/daniel-butcher\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Understanding the possible downsides of workplace friendships can help employees avoid problems for themselves, their departments, and their organizations, according to Academy of Management Scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/nancy-rothbard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nancy Rothbard<\/a> of the University of Pennsylvania. She said that many managers have an overly optimistic and simplistic view of workplace friendships.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, connecting with colleagues on social media may amplify some of the problems, according to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aom.org\/doi\/abs\/10.5465\/amr.2016.0309\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Friends Without Benefits: Understanding the Dark Sides of Workplace Friendship<\/a>,\u201d coauthored by\u00a0fellow AOM Scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stern.nyu.edu\/faculty\/bio\/julianna-pillemer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Julianna Pillemer<\/a> of New York University and <a href=\"https:\/\/mgmt.wharton.upenn.edu\/profile\/npr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rothbard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Friendships at work provide undeniable benefits, but also can bring troublesome downsides, such as the following 10 pitfalls:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3461\" class=\"elementor elementor-3461\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dc90556 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"dc90556\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6037037\" data-id=\"6037037\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e2282f elementor-widget elementor-widget-owl-carousel-elementor\" data-id=\"9e2282f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"owl-carousel-elementor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='js-owce-carousel-container owce-carousel-container  owce-carousel-no-nav-tablet owce-carousel-no-nav-mobile owce-carousel-9e2282f'><div id=\"owce-carousel-9e2282f\" class=\"owl-carousel owl-theme js-owce-carousel owce-carousel owce-carousel-basic owce-carousel-basic-one\" data-options=\"{&quot;field_prefix&quot;:&quot;carousel_&quot;,&quot;layout&quot;:&quot;basic&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:false,&quot;items_count&quot;:1,&quot;items_count_tablet&quot;:null,&quot;items_count_mobile&quot;:null,&quot;items_slideby&quot;:1,&quot;items_slideby_tablet&quot;:null,&quot;items_slideby_mobile&quot;:null,&quot;margin&quot;:20,&quot;margin_tablet&quot;:0,&quot;margin_mobile&quot;:0,&quot;nav&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;nav_tablet&quot;:null,&quot;nav_mobile&quot;:null,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;dots_tablet&quot;:null,&quot;dots_mobile&quot;:null,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;autoplay_timeout&quot;:10000,&quot;autoplay_hover_pause&quot;:false,&quot;animate_in&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;animate_out&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;rewind&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;loop_tablet&quot;:null,&quot;loop_mobile&quot;:null,&quot;smart_speed&quot;:500,&quot;lazyLoad&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;auto_height&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;mouse_drag&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;touch_drag&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\">            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-4e0867e \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/man-and-woman-look-at-laptop.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3336\" alt=\"Coworkers look at laptop\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/man-and-woman-look-at-laptop.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/man-and-woman-look-at-laptop-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/man-and-woman-look-at-laptop-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>1. Distractions<\/h3>\u201cWhen you enter a friendship with a coworker, part of what you care about is your emotional connection with this person, not just the tasks and work that needs be done. This feels great and there can be wonderful benefits to having a person who can provide a support system at work. You love to see them in the morning and hear about their weekend. But these kinds of relationships can also be distracting and actually get in the way of what has to be done at work. Compared with an acquaintance, someone who you call a friend at work can actually be interrupting and taking away from your work goals and tasks.,\u201d Pillemer said. \u201cThe friend may have had a horrible argument with their spouse or their kid is doing something or they\u2019re texting you\u2014there are all kinds of things that can disrupt your focus at work.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-5925751 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-look-at-laptop-1.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3337\" alt=\"Coworkers look at laptop\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-look-at-laptop-1.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-look-at-laptop-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-look-at-laptop-1-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>2. Closeness<\/h3>\u201cAll friendships are not created equal,\u201d Pillemer said. \u201cThere are different levels of closeness. And the closer you are to someone, the more likely and the more distracting these interruptions will be. That\u2019s because you care more about this person. So if someone you really care about is upset at work, not only is it the time you spend with them, it\u2019s also the emotional energy. It will be even harder to bring yourself back into your work.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-2b63dc7 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/boss-talks-to-team-members-1.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3338\" alt=\"Business team meets\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/boss-talks-to-team-members-1.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/boss-talks-to-team-members-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/boss-talks-to-team-members-1-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>3. Reverse Goldilocks for closeness<\/h3>\u201cA very casual friendship or a deep friendship is better than being in the middle in terms of closeness,\u201d Pillemer said. \u201cIt\u2019s the toughest thing to navigate. It\u2019s the opposite of Goldilocks. It\u2019s easy when you\u2019re bumping into acquaintances in the hallway or dealing with a best friend and you know each other completely. In the middle, you\u2019re developing a friendship and you don\u2019t always know where you stand.\u201d Misunderstandings can be common, Rothbard Longstanding friendships enable people to take risks and disagree with each other without disrupting the relationship.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-72d7860 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-talk-with-laptop-1.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3339\" alt=\"Coworkers talk\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-talk-with-laptop-1.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-talk-with-laptop-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/coworkers-talk-with-laptop-1-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>4. Roles<\/h3>Workplace friends have two roles: friend and coworker. \u201cSometimes those two things can coexist, but sometimes they might be in conflict. When people have workplace friendships, they\u2019re more likely to experience being conflicted. Workplace friends might expect you to behave in a certain way that might not be appropriate,\u201d Pillemer said.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-1c0b830 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-on-couch.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3330\" alt=\"Business team meets\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-on-couch.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-on-couch-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/meeting-on-couch-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>5. Decision-making<\/h3>\u201cWhen I go into a meeting, am I trying to get the task done or am I worried if Jenny, Joe, and Bob like me or not? Compared to people who aren\u2019t friends, friends have this additional concern about liking people and being liked and connecting with people,\u201d Pillemer said. \u201cA lot of research has shown that when there are complex decisions to be made, a diversity of perspectives helps people come up with creative solutions. But when friends get together to make complex decisions, their similarities and focus on liking their friends will be detrimental to the outcome. They\u2019re going to prepare less and deliberate less. They\u2019re going to go into this meeting saying to themselves, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s just my friends. I\u2019m not worried about this.\u2019 They\u2019re more likely to agree with each other and avoid disagreeing to disrupt the relationships.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-0db3f33 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/woman-and-man-argue.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3332\" alt=\"Woman complains to coworker\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/woman-and-man-argue.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/woman-and-man-argue-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/woman-and-man-argue-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>6. New friends<\/h3>Longstanding friendships enable people to take risks and disagree with each other without disrupting the relationship. \u201cMore mature friends are more likely to overcome problems,\u201d Pillemer said.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-391a6b5 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/hierarchy.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3335\" alt=\"Woman looks at simplified org chart\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/hierarchy.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/hierarchy-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/hierarchy-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>7. Organizational status<\/h3>\u201cIf a high-ranking individual frequently has lunch or goes out for drinks after work with a subordinate, other subordinates may notice and suspect preferential treatment given to that subordinate,\u201d  <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aom.org\/doi\/abs\/10.5465\/amr.2016.0309\" target=\"_blank\">the authors wrote<\/a>, leading the other subordinates to question if employees are being treated fairly.\n\n\u201cThis is the classic problem where people feel as though someone is the teacher\u2019s pet,\u201d Rothbard said.The wider the status gap between friends at work, the more people will notice and question organizational fairness, Pillemer said. For example, a friendship between an employee and his or her direct report will not attract as much attention as a friendship between the summer intern and the CEO.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-079c513 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/whisper.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3331\" alt=\"Woman whispers to coworker\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/whisper.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/whisper-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/whisper-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>8. Cliques<\/h3> \u201cSome managers encourage friendships within the organization, saying \u2018We should be a community,\u2019 or \u2018We should be friends,\u2019 or \u2018We\u2019re a family.\u2019\u201d This can result in the formation of cliques, \u201clike in a middle school cafeteria,\u201d Pillemer said. Cliques can make \u201ccoworkers feel ostracized and form their own subgroups, creating silos and reducing communication between groups,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aom.org\/doi\/abs\/10.5465\/amr.2016.0309\" target=\"_blank\">the authors wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-3129cd9 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/annoyed-woman-on-phone.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3334\" alt=\"Woman upset by phone call\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/annoyed-woman-on-phone.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/annoyed-woman-on-phone-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/annoyed-woman-on-phone-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>9. Visibility on social media<\/h3>While social media brings people together, it can also have the opposite effect for workplace friendships. \u201cSocial media is really exacerbating the visibility of cliques. You might not see people at work interacting as friends, then you see they posted a picture together. You might say to yourself, \u2018I thought Veronica and I were pretty good friends,\u2019 then you see a picture of her out with Jane and you realize you and Veronica never went out for a drink together,\u201d Pillemer said. \u201cThen you might be less likely to share information with her because you\u2019re not in that inner circle. Social media doesn\u2019t just create blurred boundaries, it creates transparency.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf an employee sees their boss disclose something personal on a colleague\u2019s Facebook wall or even comment on or \u2018like\u2019 a colleague\u2019s disclosure, this personal attention might be perceived as favoritism,\u201d  <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aom.org\/doi\/abs\/10.5465\/amr.2016.0309\" target=\"_blank\">the AOM scholars wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t            \t\t\t<div class=\"item carousel-item-8608d52 \">\n                <div class=\"owl-thumb\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/team-uses-social-media.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-3333\" alt=\"Three people use social media on their phones\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/team-uses-social-media.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/team-uses-social-media-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/team-uses-social-media-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"owl-content\" data-setting=\"item_content\"><p style=\"font-size:14px\">Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<h3>10. Sharing on social media<\/h3> Social media can also worsen the challenges of workplace friendships by making it difficult to tailor the personal information we share with others. \u201cFor example, sharing photos of my children might bring someone closer to some work colleagues than others. Likewise sharing political views and religious beliefs might be appropriate with some friends, but not others. Social media allows us to broadcast this information, but makes it difficult to tailor in ways that would make it more effective,\u201d Rothbard said.<\/p>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Daniel Butcher Understanding the possible downsides of workplace friendships can help employees avoid problems for themselves, their departments, and their organizations, according to Academy of Management Scholar Nancy Rothbard of the University of Pennsylvania. She said that many managers have an overly optimistic and simplistic view of workplace friendships. In addition, connecting with colleagues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,20,29,46],"tags":[],"sp_smart_badges":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":["post-3328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-careers","category-emotions","category-well-being"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>10 Land Mines of Workplace Friendships - Academy of Management Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniel Butcher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daniel Butcher\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1297a59039d9ca7bac9d9f0952e508c\"},\"headline\":\"10 Land Mines of Workplace Friendships\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-08T15:51:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":115,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/team-members-argue-1.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"BEHAVIOR\",\"CAREERS\",\"EMOTIONS\",\"WELL-BEING\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aom.org\\\/today\\\/10-land-mines-of-workplace-friendships\\\/\",\"name\":\"10 Land Mines of Workplace Friendships - 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