Having friendships in the workplace impacts my own level of job  satisfaction in many ways. It for one, gives me a reason outside showing  up for just a paycheck to enjoy being at work, it motivates me to be  productive in projects that are team oriented, and it also helps the day  go by faster knowing you wont be as stressed out when you have people  to pass the time with. These are normally people who work hard just like  me and are willing to do the job how its supposed to be. This falls  under Aristotles soul connection level of friendship. According to him,  A friend is a self that serves as a mirror of the soul(Aristotle,  1169b-1170a4). How I interpret this is that you connect with people who  are like you who possess the same attributes as yourself and have the  same desires to achieve.
Some of my friendships in the workplace have  fell under Aristotles three levels of friendship of utility, pleasure  and soul connection. For utility, I had a job where my co-workers would  take bad everyday about anything and everyone. I would just come in and  keep to myself and not involve myself with the nonsense. For pleasure, I  had I a job I loved to go in everyday knowing I was good at what I did  and also enjoyed it and would be consumed with spending the majority at  my job and not at home. For soul connection I had a job where we were  all close friends who hung out all the time outside of work and were  genuinely supportive of one another through life choices and life in  general. We all started at the bottom and we all became supervisors, and  each had our own shifts. I realized through all my experience that the  workplace can truly be your best friend or your worst enemy.
References
To  a certain extent I would personally agree with sociologist findings  pertaining to the sincerity of my work colleagues. Though at times you  may see your co-workers more times than your family during the week,  they may still not know who you truly are. This kind of relationship is  based on mutual activity and are easy to form due to the fact you dont  have to share too much of yourself to find in commonality amongst one  another. In books 8 and 9 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle identifies  two categories of friendships that exist in the workplace as intrinsic  and extrinsic. According to Aristotle, a intrinsic friendship was the  perfect friendship. He states this by saying Perfect friendship is the  friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for these wish well  alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves. Now  those who wish well to their friends; for they do this by reason of  their own nature and not incidentally¦(Aristotle, 1156b7-9)^3.) What  this kind of friendship means to me is that you do something for one  another without regard to self-reward.
When it comes to work you  dont truly know someones intentions on whether they are befriending  you vs friending you. Vernon states when referring to business, A  capitalistic system fosters distrust among members of society; in part,  because no one can ever trust anyone else. I disagree with this view  based on the I dont see work relationships as being a trust or not  trust relationship depending on if your safety is depended upon someone  else. Most people just want to come to work to work and get their job  done so that they may return to their families which aligns with  Aristotles views that ¦They like each other only insofar as it does  them some good¦They are friendly because its beneficial to be so.
My  experience with enacting friendships of utility to secure my employment  have been well. Through observation of how others treat one another and  gossip about one another when things arent going their way, I learned  to not get very close to people I work with and to just come to work to  work. I do believe this is ethical because I am not leading anyone on in  a false friendship and I also believe people are allowed to create  personal boundaries of who is allowed full access into their personal  lives without having to pretend.
References:
Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 1: Friends at Work