Face-to-face contact releases a whole cascade of neurotransmitters and, like a vaccine, they protect you now, in the present, and well into the future, so simply […] shaking hands, giving somebody a high-five is enough to release oxytocin, which increases your level of trust, and it lowers your cortisol levels, so it lowers your stress.
Susan Pinker, author, social science columnist for the Wall Street Journal
The Role of Socialisation and Social Interactions at Work
We’ve been looking into the role for socialisation and social interactions at work. It’s been established that humans are social beings and we operate best when we interact and connect with others.
Feeling safe, supported and appreciated at work can go a long way to improve performance and productivity, and social interactions are also hugely important to generate trust. That sense of trust is an essential pre-requisite for a culture of collaboration, where workers work across silos and departments in order to find innovative solutions and new ways of growth.
When you boil it down, having friends at work helps you be better at your job by improving communication and collaboration, and perhaps more importantly, it leads to a happier life overall.
Here a couple simple ideas to facilitate connections for your employees, and hence contribute to their sense of wellbeing and contentment at work:
- Implement a new hire buddy system
- Encourage team traditions and rituals
- Consider having a yearly offsite
- Do like Hubspot among others and instigate a system of ‘coffee dates’ encouraging coffee breaks between workers from different departments
Coffee and snacks of course provide a natural backdrop for collaboration and break out zones. We’ve found that by making use of engaging communications messages, and strong design we can increase the pulling power and attraction of hubs.
Like to talk more about a break out space in your workplace? Get in touch.
