In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General published a report on the effects of widespread loneliness and isolation for people across the U.S. In the document, Dr. Viviek H. Murthy claims, “loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling–it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death”. This report calls for us all to turn our attention to forming and maintaining our social connections by looking at our network of relationships through three factors: structure, function, and quality. Structure relates to the number of relationships one person possesses and the frequency with which they interact with them. Function refers to the measure of which these relationships address various needs, and quality refers to the positive and negative aspects of their interactions with those in their networks.
Image Source: The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. May 2023, p. 11.
Aside from drastic individual health problems, the loneliness experienced by staff members can lead them to become emotionally withdrawn from the company and affect their performance and job satisfaction. While there may not be much that leadership can do to encourage staff members to develop their social connections beyond the walls of the office, managers can facilitate opportunities for staff members to form deeper connections to their colleagues and, their work.
In chapter four of the 88 page report, Murthy outlines six recommendations workplaces can implement in order to create opportunities for social connection:
- “Make social connections a strategic priority in the workplace”:. Consider the elements included in the long-term strategy for your company. Often organizations include elements like revenue growth and other key performance indicators in our five- or ten-year plans but rarely consider growing worker satisfaction. Think about setting targets like organizing quarterly staff socials, implementing programs to measure employee happiness, and encouraging your staff to regularly engage in random acts of kindness towards one another. Applications like LAKE not only support businesses in evaluating their staff satisfaction and workplace culture but encourage staff to engage in kind acts towards their peers.
- “Train, resource, and empower leaders and managers”: Help leaders in your workplace become comfortable assessing barriers preventing your staff from forming connections with their peers and facilitate opportunities to form social connections in the workplace. KeBe Corp offers a number of workshops and training modules that can help your organization’s leaders become kindness mentors in your workplace.
- “Leverage existing leadership and employee training, orientation, and wellness resources”: Remind your staff members about some of the benefits and wellness resources they have access to and how to access them. Consider hosting a reminder meeting for staff to cover topics like the company’s values, what to do if they need help, and similar items.
- “Create practices and a workplace culture that allow people to connect to one another as whole people, not just skill sets, and that fosters inclusion and belonging”: Look for opportunities for your staff members to demonstrate kindness towards one another and meet outside of work projects. LAKE is a platform that encourages staff members to embark on regular kind acts towards their peers to improve workplace culture.
- “Put in place policies that protect worker’s ability to nurture their relationships outside work”: The report lists a number of issues relevant to this topic, including establishing firm boundaries between working hours and non-working hours of staff members and supporting caregiving responsibilities to children or sick relatives. Workplaces might consider implementing summer hours or periodically offering short working days to staff members, to give them opportunities to nurture their social connections, at work and outside of it.
- “Consider the opportunities and challenges posed by flexible work hours and arrangements”: The rise of remote working has enabled many to think critically about the work set up that enables them to be the most productive. Empower your staff members to voice what makes them feel supported in their work and listen with open ears. Acknowledge that the work-setup traditionally or currently used by staff members at your company may not universally work for everyone, now or in the future.
Further Reading:
The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. May 2023, https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
