It is important that we acknowledge the potential for complexity in work-based friendships.

The power differentials in work friendships can create complications. And while all relationships are to some extent transactional, working relationships are more delineated: “You are my boss; you pay me.”

But friendship at work is a risk worth taking.

Many of us spend eight hours a day working, and if we have no one to talk to about what we are struggling with or celebrating, it creates the foundation of loneliness — which has tremendous costs and negative consequences.

Founder of HSM Advisory Prof. Lynda Gratton’s latest column for MIT Sloan Management Review details why you should build friendships at work. You can read it here.