Recreating Communities in the Remote Workplace™
Social belonging is a fundamental human need, hardwired into our DNA and a key driver for employee engagement, especially in the remote workplace. The importance of building communities at work strike right to the heart of the sense of belonging; knowing that we are part of something larger than ourselves. In the advent of Covid, belonging is at high risk. Employees have lost many of the people that they spoke to everyday in the work setting. There’s no longer the casual conversations in the hallway or elevator rides that lead to the collision of new ideas, no more reaching over the cubicle for a quick answer, or the impromptu lunch invitation, or simply just a smile as someone walks by your desk. Being physically removed from social networks effects the way work is done. Being removed emotionally from networks, employees are less likely to be as responsive, alert, happy or satisfied over time. They begin to feel lonely, start to engage less frequently, leading to being sad, tired, worn out and burnt out. There are benefits, such as the holiday from the commute, which seems to be the biggest plus. Yet for many, over the long haul workplace satisfaction will be greatly reduced if strong, inclusive communities are not consciously and intentionally reconstructed.
BetterUp, a coaching solution company, conducted research to investigate the role of belonging in the workplace and the outsized consequences of its absence. High belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. Which all equates to level of worker satisfaction and if workers feel connected to their work communities, companies reap substantial bottom-line benefits.
As a result of Covid, all of our networks, work and personal have broken apart. In addition, we have the absence of social contact altogether causing Social Isolation. This is the state of being cut off from normal social networks. Social Isolation not only occurs from being physically divided, but can also be a result from being emotionally separated or removed from a community. After time if not addressed, we start to pull our selves and our voice away from our groups. Since we are wired for connection, being centered, motivated, feeling safe and trusting can all begin to erode. Social Isolation brings with it the feelings of anxiety and loneliness. Often it is difficult to identify lonliness in oneself and even when they do most people are reluctant to reach out and ask for help. Feelings of loneliness have surged to 181% as a result of social distancing and shelter in place. Loneliness is on the top of the list of barriers to productivity. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-feelings-of-loneliness-increase-181-as-a-result-of-social-distancing-and-shelter-in-place-during-covid-19-301073431.html
Lastly, according to the science, the lack of face-to-face interaction is causing a paradox in the brain. Through a process of Neuroception, the neural circuits distinguish whether a situation or people are safe, dangerous or life threatening. This is occurring very unconsciously, very automatically and very instantly. Humans are wired to use facial expressions to coregulate. Co-regulation is the process of modulating our emotions in relationship to the changing actions and emotions of another. We co-regulate; calm our central nervous system through facial expression of others. If co-regulation is in effect, the result will be a decrease in overall emotional distress. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=baby+mom+experiment+ We have the technology for video, however many are not using it and even with the technology we miss many of the subtle facial expressions and eye movements that give our brains the information necessary to feel safe and connected.
After gathering all the data, we know that creating an environment that puts the happiness and sense of belonging for their employees as a top priority and builds it into their behaviors, creates a foundation for sustainable, resilient high performing teams. To that end Recreating Communities in the Remote Workplace™ was developed. We help teams up the connection, safety and trust through an exploration of the human need for belonging and social belonging and the role they play in work communities. We also we bring into view the real time overt or subtle impacts that social isolation and separation are having on themselves, their team and their place of work. Through experiential activities the team begins to gain awareness and visibility into all the different affects this new workplace structure is having on each individual and subsequently on the team. Through a facilitated process of rigorous honest dialogue, the team begins to develop new strategies, that are tailored made for their team, and begin to mitigate and overcome the obstacles to achieving a high performing culture.
Recreating Communities in the Remote Workplace™ is a 1 day highly experiential and very engaging online workshop. The team is lead through a series of innovative, unique exercises designed to create awareness and connection, spark motivation, and lead people to action There is also a 2 hour follow-up team coaching session to move through the teams blocks they find in their day to day activities after attending the class and to ensure on-going implementation of the course material.