Why teams need social connection

Relationships are incredibly important to employee well-being. It’s about more than just “getting along” with a colleague. As humans, we crave contact and connection with other people. Unfortunately, for many employees, work can be a very lonely place, whether you work remotely or onsite together. We often ask, why in cities filled with millions of people, do people feel lonely and disconnected? The truth is, we all need to feel like we belong, we matter and we are appreciated.

Gone are the days when the phrase, “I’m here to work, not to make friends,” was the norm. Now people understand the importance of social connection. In fact LeaderX values relationship, fun and experience and makes it a priority to build healthy relationships and teams.

Humans need other humans.

Yes we need our alone time, our concentrating time, but too much creates social barriers. Too much time together can create overwhelm, conflict and resentment.

So we need to be conscious about what time we spend together, for what purpose and how we do it.

Gatherings must have a purpose which is clearly communicated and determines the type of gathering, the behaviours, themes and expectations.

Employers who support social connections in the workplace and help employees form strong relationships with one another help build a successful workforce. Some benefits of employees with strong social connections include:

Increased happiness. Happy people work better. Happiness expert Annie McKee, author of How To Be Happy At Work, says, “one of the ways we can make ourselves happy and feel more fulfilled in our workplaces is to build friendships with the people that work with us, work for us and even with our boss.”

LeaderX knows that relationships are essential to happiness. We build moments together that form memories simply by being together. They key is to make those moments positive, so those memories build the trust bank. Whether it is working on a successful outcome, learning together, supporting someone, watching a sunset or laughing uncontrollably at a joke, it all adds to the happiness memory bank.

Think about your own working relationships for a moment. Can you reflect on a quality relationship you have had in the workplace? How did it make you feel? Did it improve you enjoyment of the work, feel supported or increase your sense of inclusion or even your self-worth? These are usually the feelings that accompany positive working relationships which all lead to increased happiness. 

The Harvard Study of Adult Development tracked the lives of 724 men for 79 years and found that that relationships tremendously impact our health, happiness and quality of life - whether work, personal, family or through hobbies. In fact the quality of relationships mattered more than quantity. Imagine if you could create both quality and quantity for the people who work with you? That is a legacy indeed.

Reduced stress and isolation. Behavioural scientists have long reported that social connection is one of the greatest predictors of happiness and reduced stress.  We now see that in our understanding of depression and the promotion of talking to others to help mental health is evident. High levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, actually increases our desire to isolate and shut people out. However, oxytocin, the relationship hormone, actually reduced cortisol and increases our executive functioning of the brain. Social connection and healthy relationships are good for our health and our performance. 

Think about your own most stressful moments. Did you perform at your best? Did you want to show up everyday, enthused and energised? Were you able to do you best thinking? By helping employees foster social connections at work, employers can help reduce some workplace stress.

Increased engagement and loyalty. Now there is something very real about not wanting to let people down when you value your relationship with them. You want to do your best to keep their opinion of you in high regard. If you lead with fear, people might do the work to minimise punishment or consequences. However, if you lead through positive relationships, where people genuinely care about each other, and the work, they are more likely to become loyal, to you, to the team and to the cause. The quality of work relationships helps build a strong company culture that naturally creates respect, loyalty and trust. Employees with positive relationships become more dedicated and motivated to perform their best. 

It's a lot more fun. Of course it is more fun to work with people you like, know and trust. You can let your guard down and be yourself. You remove ego's and focus on getting the work done and enjoying the process. Isn't that what we all really want?