Why the social lives of your employees matter

Why the Social Lives of Employees Matters To Your Business

By Kelly Davis Martin, MPH, LWC

Humans are social beings. Unlike many animals in the world we cannot survive without the nurturance of others. There is no doubt that our socialization impacts both who we are and how we behave. One classic example from sociology would be Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron France, discovered in 1799 at roughly the age of twelve. Victor was a boy who had been living in the wild and who was raised by a pack of wolves. He behaved like a wolf and his preferences did not change during the few remaining years of his life- he walked on all fours, ate raw meat, hunted at night and howled at the moon. There have been more recent examples of humans who are socialized by animals, or severely neglected by other humans, and their behavior and health mirror what they have, or have not, been exposed too. Humans’ require others to survive and our social connections impacts our overall ability to grow and be well.

Social wellness is one of the seven established areas of health. To thrive socially one needs to be embedded in their community, engaged in quality relationships, and have both perceived and enacted social support. Social capital, a theory developed by Dr. Robert Putnam, is one specific measure of social health and it is a gauge of how many quality connections one has in their life. The more people one has in their social bank account the wealthier they will be. Social ill health includes habits such as gossiping, bullying and always isolating oneself. It is beneficial to spend time alone but it is essential to have at least six hours per day engaging in some kind of social activities, says Rath and Harter.

Seven Dimensions of Wellness

Occupational

Financial

Social

Environmental

Physical

Spiritual

Mental

In their book “Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements” Gallup researchers Tom Rath and Jim Harter studied the career and social health of residents in over 150 countries. They found that social health is the major predictor of career wellbeing, overall health and corporate vitality. The research states that disengaged workers have increased levels of stress and report higher levels of illness, disease, absenteeism and presenteeism. In fact, being disengaged at work (also called presenteeism) is the leading predictor of depression. Happiness at work, on the other hand, is determined by how many positive social interactions one has at their job. Employees’ contentment is partially determined by their relationships with their supervisors, by how many friends they have at work and if they have a professional mentor. Happy workers are more productive, less likely to take sick time or to suffer from “presenteeism”. Employees who have a best friend at work are “seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better ate engaging customers, produce higher quality work, have higher wellbeing, and are less likely to get injured on the job” reports Rath and Harter.

Employers can pay a staggering cost when workers have ill health. According to a report put out by the New Zealand Treasury in 2010, illness accounts for 2.5-7.6% of Gross Domestic Product. Gallup states that individuals struggling with illness cost employers approximately $1,843.00 per annum more than their thriving counterpart. The costs are generally from the indirect funds such as absenteeism (sick days) and presenteeism (physically at work but unproductive). According to Gallup the average corporate loss due to absenteeism is $348.00 per day, with this figure increasing significantly when higher paid senior management misses a day. Presenteeism lost hours range from 1.0-10.9% of total hours worked, says the New Zealand Treasury. A recent Southern Cross report found that New Zealand employees have three times the number of presenteeism days as absenteeism. Only 28% of employees are engaged at work and being engaged at work is one of the top predictors of overall health and happiness. Workplaces that have higher company morale have healthier, less at risk employees, says Gallup.

To enhance the social wellness of individual, companies should put into place a sustainable wellness programme that includes social wellbeing as a primary goal. The financial investment in corporate social health is often nil or very minimal, so check out the following list of social development ideas. Consider the below as options to explore rather than an inventory of requirements.

Strengthen existing personal and professional relationships. Social wellbeing may require one to learn new communication techniques, practice forgiveness and /or express gratitude.

Have a professional mentor to meet with regularly to brainstorm, get inspired and set goals.

• Take “group-o” breaks instead of “smoke-o” breaks. Spend time connecting with colleagues but remember that does not mean time spent talking about others.
  

• Corporations can offer incentives for employees that reward good work with social time. Ideas include team dinners, group events, holiday parties, leadership or health retreats, and company camping trips.
  

• Know your character strengths and appreciate those of others. Operating in an asset-based model rather than a deficit based one will improve morale for all involved.
  

• Give back to the community. Update the annual team-building event to be a day of service and give back to a group or organization in need. Consider volunteering with a professional purpose, such as doing service- learning projects. Assisting the community will benefit everyone involved in multiple ways.
  

• Do physical activity with other people. Associates in exercise will provide accountability, positive peer modeling, shared memories and a welcome distraction. Consider signing up for an event with friends and keep each other on track.
  

• Savour past experiences with those you shared them with. Recalling the good times provides an immediate mood lift.
  

• Model the behaviour you want to see from others. The saying “Treat others how you wish to be treated” is great here. Act selfish, grouchy, or rude and that is what you will get back.
  

• Encourage membership in professional organizations or participation in networking events.
  

• Use social media to be social- LinkedIn discussions, Facebook pages, Twitter or form Yahoo groups. Encourage online dialogue about non- urgent issues or further discussion on topics.

A well being is both social and thriving. Each of the seven areas of wellness is intertwined and to survive as an individual, or as a conglomerate, it is vital to acknowledge the importance of the whole being. To be a happy and productive person we need to foster healthy social connections that have breadth and depth. Give life to the workplace and offer employees more than just a fruit basket and a gym membership- offer them the chance to create a personal social network and a corporate community based on trust, loyalty, and collaboration. Social time at work improves the bottom line- so enjoy a cup of tea with your colleagues and spend time talking shop- the company wants you too!

Kelly Davis Martin, M.P.H., B.C.C., C.P.W.C., N.B.C.-H.W.C., P.C.C.
Kelly is the Director of Achieve Wellness, an international coaching and consulting company. She has a Masters’ degree in health promotion and completing her Doctorate of Behavioral Health. Kelly has been on faculty with Wellcoaches since 2011 and works hard for students as a mentor. Kelly also has been and advisor and mentor with both the Institute of Coaching and the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching.