May 29, 2023
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article featuring Constance Hadley, Lecturer of Management and Organizations, discussing her research on developing connections at work.
After three years of enduring the pandemic, it still seems many offices are empty and deserted as employees have stuck to online work. Companies have made many attempts to bond virtually with wine nights over zoom or online pizza parties, but people are still feeling a lack of connection and interpersonal relationships with their co-workers.
“Work really is a team sport,” says Hadley, “If you don’t feel any connection, work becomes less meaningful. There’s a real business risk in the fraying of social relationships at work.”
Despite the importance of team bonding and attempts to get back to in-person bonding, there may always be employees who don’t find it necessary or entertaining. Not everyone desires close relationships with their coworkers, but it is necessary to at least provide the option to get to know your colleagues on a personal level. The study adds the importance of “giving people as much room as they want to buy in and as much room as they want to buy out.”
