It’s Valentine’s Day, and the world is split into two camps - those who love romance, and those who couldn’t be eye-rolling any harder right now. But we’re all united on one front.
Humans need connection.
Loneliness is the new smoking, according to research. Check out our previous blog on loneliness as a psychosocial hazard, with links to the research, here.
This is a blog for leaders to create strategies for reducing loneliness and creating connectedness within their organisations.
If you are an individual looking for strategies to help you connect (particularly if you work from home or identify as an introvert), then this blog may be helpful for you.
Workplaces as a driver for positive mental health
We have talked before about how managing psychosocial health at work can be about more than simply controlling hazards and not actively damaging workers’ mental health.
Workplaces can be the drivers of positive mental health outcomes.
We live in a world where a huge number of people suffer from mental ill health and access to help is poor. As employers, why not go a step further from just ‘not making things worse’ to actually making things better?
Creating social-connectedness at work is one opportunity for leaders to impact their people positively. Loneliness experienced at home can seep into the workplace and leaders have the power to not only prevent work-based loneliness, but combat loneliness overall.
Workplaces can be the engines that drive a socially connected world.
The importance of workplace social connection
We’re not talking about the kind of connection with a colleague that you might find in a stationery closet after the Christmas party, but rather, the types of meaningful social connections that make us feel like a sense of belonging at work. Connections that fill a little bit of our social-connectedness cup.
Artist: The programmers behind Toggl
We spend a lot of our time at work, so it is natural that we will either develop connections with others in the workplace, or feel the absence of connections. A Mental Health UK poll of 2,023 people undertaken in 2022 found that 1 in 5 workers feel lonely during a typical working day and that 23% of workers surveyed agreed that workplace loneliness had affected their mental health.
Anyone who has experienced working in an environment where they don’t quite gel with their teammates will attest that it is no fun being surrounded by people either physically or virtually and feeling like Nelly-no-mates.
Feeling lonely at work isn’t just miserable, it’s dangerous, and expensive. Loneliness is estimated to cost UK employers £2.5 billion per year.
How can leaders create an environment that fosters connection?
The term ‘pizza party’ has become a two-word short-hand to describe bad bosses. Specifically, the kind who provide free pizza as a ‘perk’ rather than providing an appropriate compensation package.
However the ‘pizza party’ meme has a secondary component - the irritation that comes with being forced into social interaction with one’s colleagues.
You can design for interdependence, but you can’t just bung people together and assume that they will get on.
Human relationships are more complicated than that.
Artist: War and Peas
Leaders need to look beyond simply organising a few ‘team building days’ and an end of year party if they want to build a genuinely connected organisation.
Building a socially-connected organisation takes a bit of conscious planning, empathy and effort, but you don’t need a PhD in social psychology to figure it out.
Here are some starting points to help leaders begin looking at a strategy to combat loneliness at work.
Strategies for reducing loneliness and building social connection at work
Make combatting loneliness and creating social-connectedness a part of your organisation’s Psychosocial Risk Management strategy. Use existing HSE management systems to avoid re-inventing the wheel.
Risk assess jobs for loneliness, particularly those where social isolation comes with the job (such as lone-working jobs e.g security, production line roles, tradespeople working alone, truck drivers). Include social suitability as part of the initial recruitment process (hire people who are self-confessed introverts and who enjoy this type of work).
Look at your overall inclusion policy and honestly consider your organisation’s inclusiveness. Is there a place for everyone in your organisation, or just a few ‘types’ of people? Can employees bring their whole selves to work?
As part of an overall inclusion strategy, employers can consider setting up peer connection programmes (such as mentorship opportunities), networking and support groups. Compensation/reward schemes should be considered for employees driving these groups and attendance should be included as part of working hours.
Are your people too busy to connect? Maybe they get along but don’t feel they have time to stop and chat. Relationships are important - not just for mental health, but for successful collaboration and generating new ideas. Time to spark and nurture genuine connections should be considered as a part of setting workload.
Want to know more about how to set workload? Check out the 30-minute playback of our WorkFit Webinar here, with workplace psychologists Bridget Jelley and Jay Barrett.
Train leaders to notice the signs of social disconnection. Many people might not even be fully conscious that what they are feeling is loneliness, and if they are aware of it they might not tell you.
Artist: Connie Sun aka Cartoon Connie. Note that this type of ‘accidental loneliness’ can happen to anyone, whether they are working in physical isolation or not.
Need help with this? Glia is running a hybrid workshop (online and in-person) 21 May on mental health for leaders. More details and registration here.
When creating opportunities to connect, be inclusive and empathetic. People have different preferences and availability for socialising. Some people have a high workload outside of work (for example, caring responsibilities). Some people struggle with introversion, social anxiety, or may require adjustments for neurodiversity in relation to lighting and noise. Some people are into watching or participating in sport and some hate it. Not everyone celebrates Christmas or other events. When providing food and drink make sure you have dietary needs covered and non-alcoholic options.
This doesn’t need to be as complicated as it sounds - just ask people what they want and need, listen to what they tell you and be considerate. If you mess it up, apologise and remember for next time.
If you’re delegating responsibility for organising workplace social events, make sure the person picking this up is rewarded for it as an explicit part of their job role.
Model social-connectedness. Make time during your working day to nurture relationships, both in and out of work. Get to know more about your team and their lives outside of work. Take days off to spend with family and friends and turn your work phone off. Show your team that relationships matter.
Show your team that the organisation values their relationships, inside and outside of work. Allow time off when stuff comes up such as caring responsibilities, dropping friends to the airport, taking loved ones to appointments, attending the school play or kids’ sports days. Understand that family isn’t just genetic. People can have strong bonds with all kinds of connections and these should be valued and respected.
When you’re recruiting and training leaders, consider their social and so-called ‘soft’ skills and understanding of psychosocial risks and workplace mental health as a critical part of their job roles. Good mental health isn’t just ‘nice,’ it’s essential, and it doesn’t happen by accident.
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We are Glia, a bunch of workplace psychologists who help organisations build better teams, effective leadership, and happier people.
We offer coaching for individuals, groups and leaders and strategic plans to address and manage psychosocial risks in organisations.
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Check out our next hybrid workshop - Psychosocial Risk Management for Leaders: 21 March 09:00 - 12:00. See all the details and sign up here.
This is a change for us that we are super excited about! Our first hybrid workshop. We are a virtual business in a hybrid world so this makes sense for us and our clients.
You can join in person (Hamilton) or online, in your pyjamas, whatever you roll best with. We will have a facilitator in person and online to make this work.
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