Given the amount of time people spend at work, the relationships and connections we build in the workplace can have a variety of impacts on our overall well-being and success, both positive and negative. Strong workplace relationships better job satisfaction, productivity, and innovation. On the other hand, poor workplace relationships can lead to conflict, stress, and decreased productivity, and can also make it difficult to work effectively with others.

In this episode we focus on the second essential in the US Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-being: Connection and Community and rests on two human needs: social support and belonging. Social connection (and support) is the number, variety, and quality of your relationships and interactions--and whether these meet your needs. Belonging is a feeling of being accepted and included in a group or community.

Connection and community have healing effects and play a critical role in individual, community, and societal health. These essentials involve high levels of self awareness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal development to do these things well, and have the most to do with building empathy and compassion. We go deeper on how we can create a culture of belonging, cultivate trusted relationships, and double down on collaboration and teamwork.

Reference Materials:

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, 1992. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dumbing_Us_Down/ZY4mAQAAIAAJ?hl=en

Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html

Surgeon General’s Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/connection/index.html

Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty. https://thinklikeamonkbook.com/