What is the Health of Your Social Portfolio?

You are not alone if you are feeling a bit uncomfortable about the amount of social interaction that will come with a return to the office. Many have gotten used to the work-from-not-at-work lifestyle, especially the ability to control social interactions. As we rekindled a social life, think about the order of the choices we have made. Likely, this is somewhat reflective of the priorities of the relationships in your life.

We spend a lot of social capital on workplace relationships. When they went away, we may have even discovered that we were running a social deficit--and we had spent it on stuff we didn't really need. After 15 months, most accounts are in the black; we purged the stuff we didn't really want and are a bit smarter about how we want to spend our social time so that we don't put all of that capital into all the same places and forget about the relationships in which we want to invest and grow.

Investing means that we are expecting returns. Unlike real financial investment, active social investors on average earn greater returns than passive social investors. Active means to be involved, to get deep, learn about others' experiences, what gets them excited and scared. This is different from the typical small talk about the weekend ball game and work updates. This kind of social investment comes with risk. We may be asked the same questions. We may be confronted with information that challenges us.

We may learn something.

Consider diversifying your portfolio. What new people are out there with whom you just did not have the energy to connect. Use a little capital to take a risk. What connections give you energy; which connections take away your energy? Invest wisely.

Coming back to the workplace does not have to mean coming back to normal. Each external change in our life is an opportunity to make an internal shift. There were a lot of shifts in the past year, but with it came new investment opportunities. As you re-enter, choose to rebuild and manage your social portfolio with intention.??