THE average office worker meets 832 people during their working life and will work with, or meet, at least five of these again in different jobs, according to Office Angels recruitment consultancy.

The study of 1,500 office workers reveals that, despite meeting all these people, the working world is much smaller than we think. Of those 832 people, you will:

only meet 50 per cent face to face

become long-term friends with five

go on a date with two

only remember 40 when and if you come across them later in life

become the boss of at least one.

Of the five people you may work with again, at least one of these is likely to be senior to you or be your boss in your new job.

Paul Jacobs, managing director of Office Angels, said: "The study shows the chances of a former colleague becoming your boss elsewhere are high, so it's important to leave a job on good terms as you never know who could be asking the questions at a future interview."

At least one of the five people you will meet again at work will be a friend. "The working community is much smaller than we think, and becoming smaller all the time, thanks to e-mail and an increase in the distances people are prepared to commute," said Paul, "so it's not surprising that we are likely to find ourselves working with the same people in a different job in the future."

The study reveals four distinct classifications of working relationships:

1. The faceless friend - a contact who you only speak to over the phone or via e-mail and never meet face to face.

2. The nurturer - a work friend, usually senior to you, who offers you support and advice on how to climb the ladder and takes you under their wing.

3. The bosom buddy - your true office friend, the person you confide in and regularly socialise with outside work - usually one of your peers.

4. The water cooler friend - someone you have a superficial friendship with based purely on office gossip and news.

Nine out of 10 (89 per cent) office workers identify the "nurturer" as their most important work friendship with regards to career progression, but two thirds (62 per cent) feel their "water cooler friend" is also essential in keeping them up to speed on office news and any internal career opportunities.

Seven out of 10 (72 per cent) office workers consider work friendships their second most important friendships, after those made through university or school. Eight out of 10 say they keep in touch with at least five friends from their previous job, and at least two from their first job.

Nearly all (91 per cent) regret not having stayed in touch with more former colleagues and cite time pressure and a change of location as the main reasons for allowing work friendships to dwindle.

A third (32 per cent) worry about no longer having anything to talk about now they don't have office gossip in common.

The study shows the number of people you are likely to meet again in a different job varies between industries.

In professions with long training - such as law and medicine - where people tend to stay in the same industry for a long period, the number of people you are likely to meet rises from five to 10.

In the media world, where there is a high turnover of people, this decreases to four.