Our wellbeing depends on feeling connected to other people, especially in the workplace. Surveys reveal that interconnectedness, a main principle of ubuntu, can impact our productivity, social skills, and health. By showing trust and respect to our fellow employees, and receiving the same in return, we can satisfy our mutual need to belong.

The Ubuntuworks Resource Hub provides organizations and individuals with data, stories, studies and support for a more connected and compassionate world.

“The Impact of Connecting at Work”
Author: Janine Schindler, MCC, Forbes Councils Member
Forbes Coaches Council
From Forbes

Summary

Today, meaningfully interacting with coworkers is how many people get their daily dose of humanity, and that can go a long way toward employee satisfaction and company productivity.

Excerpt

“In a 2018 survey of 20,000 U.S. adults by Cigna, the company found that there are consistent traits among those who lack a connection with others: “It was found that lonelier people are more likely to have infrequent in-person interactions, disagree that their ‘social skills’/relationship statuses are good, be in fair/poor overall, physical, and mental health, and have less balance in their lives — all of which are interconnected and come with repercussions of their own.” For instance, only 36% of those who never have in-person interactions say they get enough sleep (compared to half of those who have daily interactions), and only 37% say “they get the right amount of family time (vs. 65%)….”

For those of us who work alone as freelancers or those of us who work in the corporate world but feel overwhelmingly isolated, what can we do to ensure that we have a better quality of life? One answer seems to be that we should satisfy our need to belong at work, and that appears to come down to trust and respect. According to EY’s Belonging Barometer study, “more than half (56 percent) of respondents feel they belong most at work when they feel trusted and respected, with baby boomers feeling this way the most at 63 percent, compared to Gen X at 56 percent and millennials at 53 percent….”

“You also can see the results of employees feeling engaged with other employees and engaged with their work in Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace report. Business units that score high in the area of employee engagement have 41% lower absenteeism and 59% lower turnover than business units in the bottom quartile. In the same engaged group, there also were 70% fewer employee safety accidents. These, plus other positive statistics, help businesses in the top quartile realize a 21% higher profitability.”

To read more about how meaningfully connecting with coworkers can increase overall wellbeing, visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/05/08/the-impact-of-connecting-at-work/

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