(Human Connectedness cont. 1)

Key Elements (13) of Human Connectedness (including some statistics)

i) management and peer support (staff are most productive at work when being supported by managers and peers (43%); receive satisfactory rewards and recognition (28%); have a strong connection with co-workers and leaders (14%); have flexible working hours (14%)

NB Personal meaning is defined by an individual's values, beliefs and action; employees who find their work meaningful become more engaged, productive and happy. When people with similar or complimentary values and goals come together, they develop a shared meaning.
"...Companies can promote meaning-making by cultivating relationships and shared experiences and facilitating growth..."
enboarder, 2023)

ii) inclusivity (it is important that employees feel seen and heard, ie they feel valued by their organisation; management listens to grievances, communicates feedback and provides guidance (around 50% felt seen and valued as significant contributors)

iii) lack of learning and growth opportunities can be a major reason staff quit (around 40% felt they did not have enough incentives and opportunities to learn, grow and thrive
NB "...incentives and learning opportunities are an excellent way to find meaning in work..."
enboarder, 2023

Need to encourage curiosity, imagination, creativity, innovation, etc, ie planned spontaneity.)

iv) interpersonal connections are pivotal for employees' outcomes such as performance, satisfaction and retention (almost all the employees claim that they are more productive and they felt connected to their colleagues:
"...employees who felt connected were more than 4x as likely to say they were very satisfied with their jobs..."
enboarder, 2023

v) strong connections with co-workers and leaders (almost all employees regard this as important; hybrid and remote working during the pandemic emphasised importance of connections and relationships and has challenged organisations to develop new ways to encourage staff camaraderie)

vi) trusting and transparent work environment increases engagement while reducing interpersonal friction (trust between co-workers allows for enhanced cohesion, communications and collaboration; around 2/3 of employees felt they can trust and collaborate with co-workers.

Linked with trust and transparency is a culture of authenticity, ie practise what you preach; lack of authenticity will cause staff to feel disconnected, and increase the disconnect between organisational and individual goals and values)

vii) belief-driven is based on prioritising personal values and social impact plus seeking better personal-organisational value alignment; staff who feel more aligned with their organisation values are more likely stay with the job (around 80% of employees felt that their organisation's purpose was in line with thier own beliefs; over 50% felt that an organisation's culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction)

NB Value misalignment is expensive, eg negative impact on staff retention and hiring.

Part of this involves developing a shared purpose and goals, ie collective mission of the employees and the organisation that helps coordinate efforts towards mutual benefit.
"...shared goals and purpose promotes co-operation and collaboration, while the lack thereof leads to chaos. When employees have common experiences covered by similar struggles, shared identity and mutual respect, they can develop shared goals..."
enboarder, 2023

A shared sense of identity, goals and purpose leads to improved higher engagement and improved organisational outcomes.
Some research shows
"... People who were 'living their purpose' at work, reported five times higher well-being levels than those who weren't......also four times more likely to show higher engagement......70% of the employees said that their work defines a sense of purpose..."
McKinsey as quoted by enboarder, 2023

NB Shared goals can be created through shared discussions of staff and management over time.

A shared purpose motivates, leads and empowers the organisation towards its potential; also binds the organisation together and pushes it forward. Leadership is important in defining purpose and getting buy-in from staff. Part of this is helping employees identify what is important to them and connecting it to the organisation's purpose.

Need to understand the difference between purpose blockers and purpose activators; micromanaging is a purpose locker, while allowing employees to work independently is a purpose activator.

The pandemic (starting 2020) has caused some people to reflect and evaluate their priorities, ie their expectations on work/life balance, contribution to society/community, etc

viii) sense of belonging or connection to your organisation (belonging is defined as
"...the experience of being seen, heard and welcomed......a sense of belonging is about being treated fairly and respectfully and that belonging le ads to higher productivity at work......a sense of belonging results in feeling confident that you can bring your authentic self to work......along with recognition for accomplishments, employees rank being able to be themselves as critical to their happiness at work..."
enboarder, 2023

Around 2/3 felt connected and belonging to their organisation.

Furthermore, based on research customers are more satisfied with the employees who have been given freedom to work in their own way, ie employee-centric orientation.

Belongingness is linked with prioritising workplace relationships plus encouraging trust and collaboration.

"...knowing you can rely on your peers to get the job done right and on time allows you to focus on your role in the workplace..."
enboarder, 2023)

"...if employees don't feel a sense of belongingness, they are more likely to feel insecure about their place in the organisation......and experience hesitation to bringing their authentic self at work. and that insecurity chips away at their creativity, ability, and willingness to collaborate.....Belongingness is a pre-requisite for high performance..."
enboarder, 2023

Belongingness has a great impact on profitability, ie
"...High belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in staff turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person company, this would result in an annual savings of more than US $52 m...."
HBR as quoted by enboarder, 2023)

ix) staff publicly recognised for accomplishments, eg feedback (see below); management publicly praising staff for good performance encourages loyalty, more engagement, etc

x) everybody is unique (no 2 people are the same, eg no 2 people feel the same way about causes and purpose, even though you are working to a shared goal; we all have different interests and passions.
"...successful leaders will understand that everyone brings thier own unique identities to work - and it will mean offering a flexible structure that allows employees to bring interests outside of work into the company. Often, supporting employees means adopting a holistic perspective of an individual and acknowledging things that are important to them outside of work, competing in triathlons to social causes they feel strongly about. Recent trends suggest that employees wanting to bring their multi-dimensional selves to work are happy to look for organisations that value them..."
enboarder, 2023

Management needs to have candid conversations with staff to get a better understanding of their work, aspirational identities, etc. This will help identify growth opportunities for them and encourage collaboration with larger organisational goals.)

xi) well-being (issues like burn-out; to foster a healthy culture, organisations need to give the appropriate support to staff like health perks, free mental health support plus incentivisation of healthy habits have proven effective; this includes financial well-being like hardship advances, extended paid leave, etc)

xii) humanising workplace relationships (management need to create a non-threatening environment where staff feel supported and heard
"...organisations looking to how their leaders forge strong connections with employees must offer resources like coaching, leadership development,, and tools like instant message and collaboration software. In addition, codify communication norms - meetings should be in-person, calls with videos on or off, situations where the team must co-locate to celebrate success, etc..."
enboarder, 2023

xiii) constructive feedback
"...people consistently underestimate others' desire to receive feedback and so refrain from sharing constructive feedback. Providing timely and constructive feedback benefits everyone in the workplace. Just remember that constructive feedback from a place of caring - be mindful of the employee's feelings and mind space..."
enboarder, 2023

It is best to give timely, regular feedback rather than just an one-off, annual review; employees who receive regular feedback are more engaged; feedback can be used to create a development-focused culture.

Summary

Artificial, superficial, unauthentic, etc 'connectedness' is not going to work.

Need to establish genuine, transparent, authentic, meaningful, etc relationships with co-workers and management.

Need to develop a true sense of belonging, ie shared purpose and goals, so that employees are engaged.

Understand how people want to connect, ie each individual is unique and different, and this needs to be catered for.

Help staff with personal and professional development.