The informal nature of relationships among employees within an organization

Abstract

The scientific schools of sociology and management have been observed to exhibit a certain ambiguity and duality of attitude with regard to informal relations within the labour collective. The issue of encouraging or eliminating informal relations becomes more pertinent in large, vertically integrated companies and branchtype companies with territorial dispersion. The objective of this study is to examine the informal nature of relationships between employees within an oil and gas company that has a head office, branches, and shift workplaces in remote areas. A sociological survey was conducted in 2023-2024 in the form of questionnaires to identify the specifics of the attitude of office and non-office workers to the formalization and deformalization of labour relations. The study has demonstrated that there is no consensus among employees within the organization, including the head office labour collective, those working on a rotational basis, and top management, on the issues of deformalization. The administration of structural units (including those in remote areas) can be more effectively utilized by the application of skillful stimulation and the utilization of informal relations on the part of management. This will result in a reduction of emotional tension and the achievement of a synergy effect in the process of labour activity.