The Life-Changing Benefits of Connecting With Your Team
Think back to the last conversation you had with a coworker. What did you talk about?
Did you discuss an upcoming project?
Did you reflect on yesterday’s meeting?
Did you talk about your least favorite part of the last creative review?
Maybe the specifics are off, but I’d be willing to bet that your discussion centered on one thing: the work we all have to do.
If I guessed right, it’s not because I’m a psychic – I’ve just been a part of many, many marketing teams. I know the chaos we all experience and how unmanageable it can feel. I have personally felt the ways in which that chaos permeates our day-to-day thoughts – the ways in which the inconveniences and annoyances of work overcome us.
When our work or working environment is challenging, frustrating, or repetitive, it’s only natural that our conversations with our coworkers are focused on our immediate environment.
It’s natural, but it’s also isolating – especially as we individually struggle to stay on top of our growing workloads that separate us from our personal lives. The constant project intake, review, revision, repeat cycle burns us out, and without a break for social, non-work-related connection, our work isn’t the only (or the most important) thing that suffers.
According to a 1979 study conducted by Berkman and Syme, the risk of death for those with the fewest social ties is 2x more than that of those with the most social ties. Your social ties have such an impact on your health that people with close social connections and unhealthful lifestyles, such as smoking or lack of exercise, are more likely to live longer than healthy individuals with few social connections. Humans require emotional support, and when that’s not present, we experience the damaging effects of stress.
On the bright side, studies show that people with more and higher quality social connections have reduced anxiety and stronger immune systems.
How strong do you think our social connections would be if all we ever talked about was work? Probably not so solid, right? Knowing this, why is the workplace exempt from the kinds of discussions that actually deepen our connections with one another?
We advocate experimenting to find ways to make your team more connected. The office, whether physical or virtual, is a much happier place to be when you’ve bonded with your team, and you can’t bond too well if all you know is your coworkers’ job descriptions.
Here’s my tip for getting started: schedule time during the week for everyone to get together and bond over something not related to work. You can talk about the game on Sunday, your pets, and your favorite foods. You’d be surprised how much there is to learn about the people you see every day. By making time for these conversations, you demonstrate that the value of the people on your team is not only in the work they produce but who they are as individuals.
That’s just one tip. Everyone connects in different ways, but it’s worth investing the time to find what works for you and your team. It’s not just me, it’s science, and the benefits are life-changing.
