Question

How does being SOCIAL increase the productivity of teams? How can you make your team a more socially friendly environment? PLEASE CITE SOURCES

Answer 1

• Since employees spend about 40% of their waking lives at work, it is obvious that social interaction in the workplace is fundamental to an overall sense of wellbeing for employees.
• Improvements in wellbeing result in better productivity, higher quality work, and increased employee engagement.
• Strong social connections make people happier and physically healthier, which can translate into work performance. Employers who support social connections in the workplace and help employees form strong relationships with one another help build a successful workforce.
• Providing workers with social productivity tools like messaging while encouraging them to stay in their cubicles is not as effective as getting the team together for brainstorming and innovation.
• Low stress levels are extremely beneficial in the workplace. No employee performs his or her best when dealing with chronic stress or burnout. High levels of workplace stress can lead to absenteeism, illness, low energy, and irritability. By helping employees foster social connections at work, employers can help reduce some workplace stress.
• Social connection provides a sense of cohesion in the office, which is essential for cultivating creativity, teamwork and collaboration. Employees with positive relationships become more dedicated and motivated to perform their best. A work environment that promotes social connection might also experience better recruitment outcomes as well.
• Creating opportunities to engage face to face is an important consideration now that 43% of employees work remotely at least part of the time.
• As an employer one needs to create opportunities for social interaction in the workspace that can increase teamwork and engagement, without sacrificing personal productivity. Consider how the employees utilize the physical workspace.
• Design workspace for groups that encourages face to face interaction, while also setting aside some workspace areas that are quieter and more private for employees that are more easily distracted or are working on very focused, intense projects.
• Make sure remote workers can engage in face to face meetings, whether that is regular use of video conferencing or bringing them to the office physically through the use of shared workspaces.
• Jacob Morgan, author of The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization, suggests that the employee experience is created through the interaction of three factors: the physical workspace, the work culture, and the technological environment. He noted that many employers offer many different layouts for working–conference rooms, open layouts, cubicle bullpen layouts, café environments, learning environments and places for employees to have alone and quiet time.
• In addition to the physical design of the workspace, consider ways to improve employee engagement through social activities in the workplace. This can include organized office events like celebrations and employee recognition but can also include smaller social gestures such as beginning each meeting with a bit of personal conversation.
• Managers can encourage employees to create ‘lunch bunches’ or exercise groups. Companies can facilitate employee efforts to volunteer or fundraise for nonprofit causes.
• Creating opportunities for employees to plug into social groups at the office can improve team cohesion and foster better workplace wellbeing. In essence, team-building activities enable employees to both play hard and work hard.
  
• Sometimes it’s difficult for employees to socialize at work due to the office layout or different departments not having any contact with one another. By simply taking the time to introduce teammates from different departments, employers can provide an opportunity for social connection. Employees will also benefit from having team outings – such as volunteer events or lunches – with other employees from different departments that they typically don’t get to interact with.
• Building social connections in the workplace doesn’t have to mean that all employees should be best friends or that everyone gets along all the time. It’s about fostering an environment that supports mutual respect, trust and belonging among peers.