The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Friendship 287

the male gender role, we might expect

that men are more likely than women

to suffer from this form of role conflict.

Judgment versus acceptance:An im-

portant attribute of friendship is mu-

tual acceptance. The work role might

require one person to critically evaluate

the other, which creates a differential

status between the two people. Because

men are more sensitive to the status

aspects of relationships, this challenge

may be especially hard on men’s friend-

ships. However, we also learned that

women are more likely to make inter-

nal attributions for criticism—to take

feedback to heart. Thus, criticism from

friends at work may jeopardize women’s

friendships.

TAKE HOME POINTS

■ Friendship at work is increasingly common and tends to

be associated with enhanced work productivity and job

satisfaction.

■ Work presents opportunities for the development of

cross-sex friendships. Cross-sex friendships may present

more advantages to work for women than men.

■ Friendships at work can present conflict between the

friendship role and the worker role.

Changes Over the Life Span

Friendship changes throughout childhood,

adolescence, and adulthood. Friendship takes

on increasing importance in adolescence—

especially for girls. During adolescence, girls

begin to spend more time with friends than

boys, and girls’ friendships become more

intimate and self-disclosing than those of

boys (Swenson & Rose, 2009).

to whether gender ought to be an important

factor in these kinds of conflicts. You can test

these ideas in Do Gender 8.5.

Impartiality versus favoritism:As

a friend, we expect special treatment

and favoritism, but the workplace typi-

cally requires treating people equally.

Is there any reason to believe men or

women would be more likely to suffer

from this role conflict?

Openness versus closedness:Friend-

ships require open, honest communi-

cation. At work, we may be expected to

hold confidences. Because women self-

disclose to friends more than men do,

women might be more likely than men

to suffer from this role conflict. How-

ever, sex differences in self-disclosure

are clearer when the topic is a personal

one. It is not clear if a work-related

topic is considered personal.

Autonomy versus connectedness:

Work provides a way of connecting

to one another, which should foster

friendship. Difficulties arise when we

feel a lack of autonomy in a friendship

because we spend so much time with a

friend (i.e., seeing the person daily at

work). Because autonomy is central to

DO GENDER 8.5

Role Conflict at Work

Develop items to measure the forms of

role conflict discussed by Bridge and

Baxter (1992). Administer the items to

men and women who have a close friend

at work. Determine if there are sex differ-

ences. Also, develop a set of open-ended

questions to assess role conflict at work.

M08_HELG0185_04_SE_C08.indd 287 6/21/11 8:12 AM