Ever imagined making impassioned speeches to sizeable audiences, wondering who to thank for your achievements? Turns out it takes an entire community to build a career and blaze a trail to success. Professional networking platform LinkedIn’s latest research study has revealed that the UAE workforce has different “types” of colleagues to thank for success at the workplace: the “cheerleader”, the work “bestie” and the work “rival”.

With offices becoming second homes to most professionals, it comes as no surprise that an individual’s workplace community – colleagues who become best friends, mentors, cheerleaders and opponents – play a major role on the path to professional success.

The data revealed that 64 per cent of UAE professionals have cheerleaders or supporters who positively impact their career progression, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they have more than one such cheerleader at work. On the other hand, besties are an important part of day-to-day work life, with nearly 51 per cent of those surveyed saying that their workplace bestie helps them thrive, rather than survive, through the day.

In addition, the research revealed that authority figures can have a lasting impact on professional success: 18 per cent of respondents credit their school teachers for influencing their current career choice (first job), while 16 per cent thank their first bosses for their career progression.

Furthermore, diversity in the workplace significantly boosts ingenuity. About 57.3 per cent of those in the UAE labour force credit their increased creativity to being exposed to different cultures, while 59 per cent say they have learnt more thanks to this multi-cultural exposure.