Creativity & Well-Being: Combatting Collective Loneliness & Building a Culture of Connection
Alice Katter for Working Not Working
Before continuing, we encourage you to first read Part 1 on Fostering a Culture of Well-Being.
With over a year of social distancing behind us, our sense of connection has changed drastically. While many of us have been enjoying the new flexibility of working from home, we’re also realizing that without the office or traditional place of work, what we miss most are the social connections they provide.
This goes hand in hand with research on one of the biggest struggles with remote work: loneliness and lack of community.
Loneliness is one of the most common complaints about remote work, with employees missing the informal social interaction of an office setting.
Belongingness is a fundamental human need. A sense of belonging and being part of a community and forming and maintaining positive connections in the workplace is not only important for people’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being but also for our work performance. People who feel connected are more willing to contribute new and bold ideas, are less impacted by stress, and are more productive.
Conversely, those who feel less belonging perceive daily life as more stressful; act more aggressively, selfishly, and with less self-control; and are at greater risk of depression. Our daily interactions are shown to reinforce our sense of well-being and belonging. And if you don’t feel a sense of belonging or community, you may not feel as engaged at work or as motivated to succeed.
“Our daily interactions are shown to reinforce our sense of well-being and belonging. And if you don’t feel a sense of belonging or community, you may not feel as engaged at work or as motivated to succeed.”
Why is that?
Humans are social creatures. In this simple and obvious fact lies both the problem and the solution to the current crisis of loneliness. As Dr. Vivek Murthy writes in his book TOGETHER: “At the centre of our loneliness is our innate desire to connect. We have evolved to participate in community, to forge lasting bonds with others, to help one another and to share life experiences. We are, simply, better together.”
And good relationships are intrinsic to combating loneliness. But especially while working remotely, it’s not always easy for individuals to establish and form relationships at work and beyond.
So how can we build a culture of connection and solve loneliness collectively?
In order to overcome collective loneliness, we need to build a culture of connection and invest in community and feeling a sense of belonging.
Managers or community leaders need strategies to create connections for different kinds of people and rethink the way they connect as a team. Over the past months, many of us have found out that happy hours are not actually the most helpful way to connect. They usually end up with chats around the topic most people have in common: work. It might seem easy, but this is not very helpful in bonding as conversations stay shallow.
Here are a few ideas to get you started on creating long-lasting, meaningful connections to overcome loneliness while working remotely:
Defining shared values
The key to a successful organization and community is to have a culture based on a strongly held and widely shared set of beliefs. Defining a mission, vision, shared values and principles is key to building a community, at work and beyond. Think about the purpose of your community, why you gather, and what your gathering should look like. Being aligned on these values will make you feel a stronger shared purpose and increase a sense of belonging.
Building high-quality connections
We can defeat loneliness through deeper connections, which are more likely to come through 1:1 conversations or by actually doing something together. Transparency and vulnerability encourage people to open up and be empathetic towards others. Initiatives such as Talking Not Talking create a safe space to talk, be open and honest with one another, and to connect on a human level.
If you’re looking for a way to build deeper connections with your team, I created Corporate Tarot Connection Cards to foster connection through the power of human stories and play.
“On days when we’ve had a positive impact on others at work, we feel more competent and get more energy. Even small acts of kindness can be antidotes to isolation.”
Helping others
There’s evidence that helping others can make us feel less lonely. It allows us to feel that we matter, that we’re valued, and that we’re appreciated. On days when we’ve had a positive impact on others at work, we feel more competent and get more energy. Even small acts of kindness can be antidotes to isolation.
Connecting outside of work
We have to find small ways to regularly be “off” together. These “off” moments help remove barriers and hierarchies and gradually create a culture that brings us closer even when we are remote.
All these ideas can take time to implement, but by starting with even just one or two of them, you’re bound to feel a boosted sense of community—essential when it comes to improving our psychological well-being.
Alice Katter is a curious optimist who uses strategic design to create culture, company, and community platforms centered around the art of slowing down, creativity, and well-being.
Throughout the past 10 years, Alice has developed strategies, designed programs and creative solutions, implemented her frameworks with organizations such as Dropbox, Working Not Working, Pattern Brands, and SubRosa, and shared her thinking on platforms and communities like SuperHi, 99u, General Assembly, Freelance Founders, and Ladies Wine & Design.
She is also the creator of out of office - a monthly newsletter and thought-platform, exploring ideas and offering tools and resources to reimagine our working lives and culture.
Visuals by Kayla Homenok