Encouraging Social Wellness at Work

What is Social Wellness?

Humans naturally crave social connection. Familial bonds, close friendships and romantic relationships all play a part in maintaining healthy social connections in our lives. However, social wellbeing expands beyond just our close relationships. Social wellbeing is a sense of belonging to a community and making a contribution to society. It involves the ability to build personal connections with others, deal with conflict and be a part of a positive social network. 

Since we spend much of our time at work, how we interact with our co-workers plays a huge role in our social wellbeing. Also, as an employee, your work is a large piece of how you contribute to society. So it is important employees feel that what they are doing is meaningful. All of this is encompassed in social wellness.

Why is Social Wellness Important?

The effects of poor social wellness (such as loneliness and isolation) take a toll on our mental and physical health. Some ways loneliness can manifest into health issues include: 

• Cognitive decline
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Substance use & addiction
• Increased difficulty controlling high blood pressure & diabetes

According to one study out of Brigham Young University, the effects of poor social connection are:

• Equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
• Equivalent to being an alcoholic
• More harmful than not exercising
• Twice as harmful as obesity

What Does Social Wellness Look Like in the Workplace?

Now that we know what poor social wellness looks like, let’s look at how healthy relationships help in the workplace. In addition to all the health benefits already discussed, a 2017 Gallup survey observed that having close work friendships boosted employee satisfaction by 50%. Satisfied employees are more productive and creative employees. According to the HR company, Rise, social connection fosters:

• Higher self-esteem
• Trust and cooperation
• Greater empathy for others
• Team performance
• Development of assertiveness skills in place of passive or aggressive ones
• Treating all people with respect
• The ability to create boundaries within relationships that encourage communication, trust, assertiveness skills & conflict management
• Being in a social space that allows for fun, laughter, and encouragement

When employees feel that they are part of a larger community, they take more responsibility for their work and are more engaged. The overall major benefit of fostering a workplace community is having happier, less stressed and more productive employees.

How to Encourage Social Wellbeing at Work

Employee Recognition

When employees are recognized for their achievements or good work, it promotes positivity, ties their work to a bigger goal, and encourages employees to compliment each other’s work, promoting relationship building. 

Provide Social Opportunities

Create environments where employees can socialize naturally without any financial cost to them. This can include after-work events like sports games, company picnics or holiday parties. Or it can be more work-focused like company off-site workshops. Another great way to encourage social engagement is through volunteering opportunities.

Connect to a Bigger Goal

Give employees a few paid days a year to volunteer at a charity of their choice. Provide charitable payroll contributions that your employees can opt into. If your company is helping the greater good, it makes employees feel they are making a difference as well. 

Team Development over Personal Development

A 2015 study found employees with low levels of autonomy felt more lonely. To combat this, avoid micromanaging and allow for flexible scheduling. In addition, employers should focus on developing team problem-solving skills over individual ones. Having employees work together to find solutions instead of going at it alone or having little control over their work, leads to healthier, happier and more social workplaces.

Use Your Wellness Initiative

If you have a wellness initiative that focuses on physical health, you can use it to also promote social wellness. For example, creating teams to compete against each other in a step challenge instead of competing as individuals encourages social interaction among team members. For more ideas on promoting social wellness with your company fitness challenge check out this blog post.