Why social connection is vital – and how to use benefits to build it
Imagine turning up to a workplace that was more like a coffee shop than an office.
That’s exactly the vision of Twilio chief executive Jeff Lawson in response to the increase in the number of remote workers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In many cities, though, the company now has enough interest from employees to return to some sort of office, with the caveat being if it’s the sort of place they’d want to return to.
Cue the idea of repurposing their offices into coffee shops in the cities where they have employees: somewhere they can work when they want community, a change of scenery, oh, and an espresso.
And Lawson is not alone in his thinking. A growing number of companies are looking at ways to attract their workforce back into the ‘office’ and improve their social health as a result.
Measuring social health
There’s an abundance of articles online about the importance of mental and physical health. But what about the state of an individual’s connections? The strength of their relationships and how they connect with friends, family, and colleagues, especially given the ‘always on’ culture and data deluge they face every day?
According to business coaching specialist BetterUp, social health boils down to two main factors: the ability to build healthy relationships and their quality, as measured by duration and meaningful connection.
Julia Hobsbawm, a champion of social health, goes even further to describe it as how we connect better, more meaningfully, to raise our game, to raise our self-esteem, to raise our trust in ourselves and what we can achieve.
Hobsbawm sees knowledge, networks and time as social health’s equivalent to exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
Why you should care
Now, more than ever, building and maintaining relationships within the workplace is vital – and challenging. As a result of hybrid working and the prevalence of digitalisation, many employees only have virtual connections with some or all of their colleagues. In fact, many Gen Z employees have only ever known a virtual workplace.
While hybrid working is here to stay, and companies need to invest in building both physical and online connections to promote inclusion, the reality is that attendance in the office better suits certain scenarios such as training, team building and forging stronger connections.
Connections are essential in the workplace, helping everything from promoting collaboration and increasing productivity to improving wellbeing and morale.
They also promote a sense of inclusion and belonging and give meaning to a role, which leads to employees working for each other and the company, alignment with company values and frequent social interaction. Plus, a lack of meaning can lead to burnout.
Making a case for the office
The benefits of in-person connections are apparent, but, as Hobsbawm observes, “companies are adjusting to the realisation that they can’t just impose a return to the office without making a case for it. The challenge, and opportunity, is for leaders to take this moment of rebuild and the literacy we’ve developed about wellbeing, and to say: ‘We're your workplace’”.
That challenge and opportunity is summed up by the Twilio situation.
Although Twilio’s coffee shop idea sounds fun, the reality is that, according to a poll of its employees, 99% said they never wanted to go back to an office again full-time. But, as Lawson acknowledges, “nobody is excited to go back to the office five days a week. They do, however, want a sense of connection and belonging.”
That’s reiterated by Hobsbawm: “The future of successful, productive, harmonious work is also about recognising that who we are, in our heads and our hearts, is totally linked to how well we work and how much we feel part of something that matters.”
“If you want to have better equality and diversity and productivity, you have to give everybody time and money for networking. If you believe in the value of breaking bread with people, then you have to give people the opportunity to do so.”
In Sweden the equivalent of ‘breaking bread’ is sharing cake. Having recognised that promoting employee connections leads to improved productivity, in most Swedish companies it’s mandatory for all employees to take Fika, a designated break for cake and coffee.
Promoting social health
If creating a coffee shop-style work environment is a step too far, there are more tried and trusted conventional ways of promoting social health and encouraging connections.
- Reward connections – have a system that recognises those who display behaviours that strengthen connections with colleagues, such as helpfulness, collaboration and respect.
- Encourage social events – recognise organisers of events such as quiz nights and coffee mornings and support them time-wise and financially or through a points allocation.
- Organise company events – bring the company together to give employees the chance to interact and get to know each other, especially with colleagues they wouldn’t usually meet.
- Remember moments that matter – ensure managers are recognising the right people at the right time to make them feel valued and connected to the company.
- Measure diversity – track collective and individual behaviour within your teams to identify opportunities for greater diversity and inclusion.
In partnership with BI WORLDWIDE
BI WORLDWIDE is a global engagement agency delivering measurable results for clients through inspirational employee and channel reward and recognition solutions.
