More than six in 10 people don’t socialize with colleagues outside of work and 43 percent don’t feel any alliance with coworkers. That can affect performance and retention, according to research by BetterUp Labs.
Workplace relationships play an important part in our lives.” – Carole Robin
Source: Fast Company, July 15, 2022. Link. Simple, effective ways to foster more connection in the workplace include:
- Prioritize connection over convenience
- Create space for the personal
- Find ways to elicit positive emotion
- Normalize appropriate vulnerability
INSIGHTS: Several veterinary practices I’ve known close during a lunch period. They chose earlier start times and later closing times for an extended break midday. Even with staggered scheduling, it gave them time for lunch and learns, camaraderie development and time to connect with each other.
Also see: 6 forces that fuel friendship, The Atlantic, June 10, 2022. Link. Julie Beck shares six forces that she believes form friendships and helps maintain them through the years: accumulation, attention, intention, ritual, imagination, and grace.