How to improve social wellbeing in the workplace.

Social wellbeing is a measure of your employee’s relationships both at work and outside of the workplace. It occupies the same space as physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. It generally refers to how your employee is feeling, do they have a sense of belonging at work? Social connections are critical, not just for health and wellbeing but also for workplace productivity and creativity.

From your relationships with coworkers to aligning with your business values – Social wellbeing is about feeling appreciated as a person, collaborator and employee.

Here are some simple ideas on how to create or improve it.

Establish regular get-togethers
After the year we just had, you can’t ignore the importance of connection in the workplace. Having a close relationship at work has been linked to enhanced job fulfilment, fewer safety incidents, higher financial gains and more engaged consumers.

To do: Advocate staff get-togethers and encourage people to communicate and connect regularly.

Create a social spot.
Allocate space within your office for staff to socialise, clear their mind or even meditate. Creating a social space for you and your team will give everyone a place to decompress and socialise without distracting others.

Note: Don’t have any spare spaces? Why not turn a conference room into a communal space for a few hours every day.

Celebrate people.
We all know how nice it is to be celebrated. Making a conscious effort to acknowledge peoples contributions can do a long way in creating a sense of purpose and engagement in any workplace. Celebrating each other wins shows that as business or team leaders, you value them and their participation, creating a sense of security in their value to the business.

Note: It’s not hard to recognise success; praise peoples success publically at a morning huddle or monthly team lunch.

Champion group physical health.
Stress is common and can have a significant impact on you, your staff and workplace culture. Help ease the daily stresses and create community by implementing group activities and programs to help address staff physical health while also cultivating connection.

To do: Organise a once a week yoga session for staff.

Inspire positivity.
In any business climate, positive leadership is perhaps the most important competitive advantage a company can have. In addition, building a positive work environment supports your team in feeling more comfortable, increasing social interaction, and improving communication among coworkers.

To do: As a busless leader, you can help inspire positivity by practising gratitude, promoting laughter and using positive messaging.