Getting along with your work colleagues could actually help you live longer, new research has shown.

A study of 820 men and women showed those with good peer-to-peer relationships had a lower risk of mortality than those did not chime with their co-workers.

The link between a positive workmate relationship and the risk of mortality was most notable among those aged between 38 and 43.

However, positive support from managers or others in senior positions was shown to have no effect on mortality.

The study, published by the American Psychology Association, found that 'peer social support, which could represent how well a participant is socially integrated in his or her employment context, is a potent predictor of the risk of all causes of mortality.'

Factors contributing to positive working relationships included helping others to solve problems and friendliness.

The research was conducted over 20 years, between 1988 and 2008, at the University of Tel Aviv, in Israel.

The case studies were chosen from some of the country's largest finance, insurance, public utilities, health care and manufacturing firms working on average 8.8 hours a day.

One-third of the participants were female while 80 per cent were married with children and 45 per cent had at least 12 years of formal education.

The report, in this month's APA journal Health Psychology, also discovered that male longevity was increased by control and decision authority.

However, the same responsibilities in the female sample were found to have the opposite effect, showing an increased risk of mortality.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)