Belonging, Employee Experience, Employee Well-being, Onboarding
The top public health officer says loneliness is harming Americans鈥� health. Here鈥檚 how employers can fight back.
The U.S. is facing an 鈥渆pidemic of loneliness and isolation.鈥�
That鈥檚 the warning from Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general.
鈥淎bout one in two adults in the U.S. experience loneliness,鈥� , according to Gallup. In data from health insurer Cigna, loneliness increases according to demographic factors like age, gender, ethnicity, and income.
"We all want to know that we belong somewhere. We want to know that we鈥檙e accepted. We want to know that we鈥檙e seen.鈥� - Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer, Deloitte
People from underrepresented groups .
In 逸遊娛樂城庐 research, remote workers are less likely to feel like they make a difference, and only two in three remote and hybrid workers said they could be their true self at work.
Taking action
Before launching any programs to combat loneliness in the workplace, start by asking workers what they need.
On the 鈥淏etter鈥� podcast, Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer at Deloitte, shared questions to ask before starting a well-being initiative.
鈥淭he No. 1 and lowest cost thing that you can do 鈥� because there鈥檚 no cost to it other than engaging with people and getting a little bit of their time 鈥� is asking your workforce, 鈥楬ey, what do you want? What do you need? What would be meaningful? What are the barriers in the way of you doing these things for yourself, or taking advantage of the things that the organization is providing you?鈥欌��
The answers you receive could help avoid misdirecting funds into programming that employees won鈥檛 use.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really powerful to engage your workforce in this type of conversation,鈥� Fisher says. 鈥淏ecause even if you don鈥檛 do exactly what they ask you to do, the simple fact that you asked them what they thought and what they needed goes a long way.鈥�
A focus on belonging
Many organizations are focused on belonging to try and create connection between employees.
World Wide Technology, as part of its diversity, equity & inclusion strategy, has implemented a storytelling program to help employees connect. As part of its efforts, Accenture has focused on belonging to ensure that every employee feels valued and connected.
Employee resource groups (ERGs) have become a core part of how many organizations think about helping employees connect with one another.
Visa developed a partnership with its Return to Office team to hold ice cream socials on the third Wednesday of every month. Attendees can visit booths for each of its ERGs, and sign-up to become a member.
The ice cream socials offer a clear example of how companies can incentivize workers to build relationships with each other without forcing the issue. And Visa says the regular events have been successful in not only increasing ERG participation, but also raising awareness about the role of its ERGs across management and leadership teams.
"The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity." - Dr. Vivek Murthy, surgeon general
Friendship in the workplace isn鈥檛 a frivolous side show. When employees have friends at the office, they鈥檙e more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay with the organization.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sense of belonging,鈥� says Fisher. 鈥淚f I connect with another human being, I feel like I belong at the organization, and that鈥檚 what we all want. We all want to know that we belong somewhere. We want to know that we鈥檙e accepted. We want to know that we鈥檙e seen.鈥�
The importance of onboarding
It鈥檚 crucial that employees feel welcome when joining the organization. According to 逸遊娛樂城 research, employees who are made to feel welcome when joining a new team are:
- 60% more likely to feel their job is meaningful
- 2x more likely to have well-being
A warm welcome is also a crucial employee experience during economic downturns. When employees feel welcomed, their organization is more resilient during recessions.
For many organizations, a new hire buddy program is an important opportunity for employes to build relationships within the organization.
At Tanium, new hires are paired with a buddy and a mentor. On day one, new hires meet with both the mentor and the new hire buddy, as well as their manager. Their buddy is a resource for any questions, a facilitator of connections, and an additional support to ensure new team members are having a positive onboarding experience.
Mentors at Tanium play a different role, working to familiarize new hires with role-specific nuances, and new hires often shadow their mentors in both internal and external meetings.
At PulteGroup, every new hire is assigned an onboarding experience partner. These special ambassadors can come from any role level or department of the organization and serve on a volunteer basis.
A new hire鈥檚 onboarding partner meets them in-person on their first day and guides them around the facility, introducing people in every department and familiarizing them with the workplace.
Remote connections
When employees don鈥檛 all commute to a central location, it鈥檚 harder to form close relationships. Many companies focus on remote onboarding, but how can companies continue to reinforce those connections once onboarding ends?
At Atlassian, a peer-to-peer recognition program called 鈥淜udos鈥� is one answer. The program allows employees to nominate their colleagues for their efforts and recipients receive gift cards, books, specialty beverages, and more.
When employees are able to recognize one another, relationships and their importance to the organization are reinforced.
Again, it鈥檚 important to ask employees what they need. Deloitte鈥檚 Fisher recommends asking the team: 鈥淗ow can we support one another? What do we want our team behaviors and norms to look like?鈥�
This is when teams can set expectations around standard working hours and communications tools. Setting expectations allows team members to log off while still feeling connected to their colleagues. When norms aren鈥檛 communicated, employees are left to worry about what they might be missing when they aren鈥檛 sitting at the computer 鈥� which can exacerbate loneliness.
A priority for leaders
At the best organizations, leaders make it a top priority to connect on a personal level and build relationships with employees.
At Wegmans, one-on-one listening sessions are part of a wider push for all managers to build relationships with employees. 鈥淩elationship building鈥� is on the performance plan for all division leaders and store managers, and weekly, informal conversations with employees are encouraged.
The relationship goes two ways, too. When employees feel like they belong, they are more likely to innovate and give extra effort.
Survey your employees
Do your workers feel a sense of belonging? Benchmark your employee experience against the best data available with 逸遊娛樂城 Certification鈩�.
