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Americans are less likely than those in other parts of the world to socialize with their fellow employees beyond the workplace, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. They found that only 30 percent of employees have a close confidant at work, down from nearly half in 1985. "Compared to counterparts in other countries, US co-workers are less likely to extend professional ties into a variety of settings beyond the workplace, even though factors that typically constrain social interaction with co-workers after hours ? marriage, kids, time spent working ? have remained constant or weakened," says researcher Aleksandra Kacperczyk. Yet when Americans do socialize after work, they derive positive emotional energy from the experience, the study shows.