[stenius]

One of my most successful coworkers, who recently got a promotion this year, spends his time chatting with people, joking all day, and bantering with people in different departments. He's the go-to guy for figuring out if there's an existing solution to a problem or getting an opinion of if some work is going to run into problems later with some other changes someone is going to make.

The point I'm trying to make is, that it pays to be connected to your coworkers, because problems get solved when information is flowing between people.

It shouldn't be all work related conversations either. It's much easier to change subjects to something more serious when you have a rapport with someone and they are more likely to confide in you if they know you're on the same team.

And the answer to why give someone who's happy a raise, It's so they stay because they are becoming an essential part of the business and they're increasing everyone else's productivity as well. And if they don't give you a raise, you'll have built a large network of friends at your company who will probably want to bring you along as well if they leave.