4 Ways to Boost Social Connections in the Remote Workplace

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter. You can?access the full article in the?Newsletter Archives . And don't forget to?subscribe ?so you receive the new edition every Monday morning.?

I’ve explored many aspects of the hybrid working model over the past few months, including what it takes to build a high-performance hybrid culture , how to make hybrid meetings fair , and how to create a great hybrid work culture . In this week’s article, I discuss the importance of encouraging social connections in the hybrid or remote workplace.

The desire to connect with others is a basic human need, and in the workplace, this is no exception. When people have meaningful relationships with their colleagues, they’re happier and healthier, not to mention more engaged and productive. Being able to socialize at work has also been shown to impact creativity and even our ability to learn .

Research from my company, Workplace Intelligence, and Kahoot! confirms that people’s ability to informally spend time with their coworkers contributes a great deal to their workplace experience. We found that nearly three-quarters of employees (72%) say it’s important that they can have fun with their colleagues during the workday, and most would like to socialize with them after hours as well.?

However, many workers reported that they aren’t engaging in these activities as often as they’d like to. Only 57% say they always or often get to have fun with their teammates at work, and just 50% spend time with their colleagues outside of the workday. Adding to this issue is a notable perception gap that we uncovered between workers and their employers. Specifically, we found that many HR leaders think that employees are getting enough social time with their peers, when in fact this isn’t the case.?

Hybrid or remote organizations should take note of this gap as they consider how to create a culture where all employees, regardless of their location, feel a sense of connectedness. They’ll have to be much more intentional about encouraging people to spend time together and get to know one another, and they’ll need to provide the right tools and technologies to support these interactions.

I recently interviewed several CEOs about this topic, and they shared some of the unique ways they’re encouraging social connections among their remote or dispersed teams.

Subscribe to my FREE Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter to read their suggestions and best practices, including:

• How Articulate leverages technologies like Slack to drive remote worker connectedness
• The unique competition PandaDoc created to inspire camaraderie among its dispersed teams
• Why Prezly brings its employees together a few times a year and holds an annual company retreat
• The creative virtual events these companies offer to incorporate fun into their company culture

Want to read the full article? You can access it in the?Workplace Intelligence Insider Archives . To receive the new edition every Monday morning,?subscribe ?for free.

How is your company encouraging remote workers to connect with each other? Let me know in the comments below!