Community is good for our mental health and wellbeing. That’s the message behind this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, 12th to 18th May. Run by the Mental Health Foundation, the campaign seeks to explore the many ways that feeling part of a community can support and nurture improved mental health.
Of course there are many different types of communities. You can feel a part of a neighbourhood, a sports team, share a hobby with your friends and come together over a cause for good. But the community where many of us spend most of our time is in the workplace. In fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime.
And that’s why this blog celebrates the power of building connection and community into our working lives. As we’ll explain, the benefits can go a lot further than improved mental health.
The resurgence of community
Community is perhaps one of those things we take for granted. But what happens when that is taken away? The pandemic was the moment when we realised the real value of what we had. All of a sudden we were working from home without the company of colleagues along with enforced seclusion from friends and family. For many it was an unforgiving time, putting strains on mental health and causing huge spikes in anxiety. And yet, from this emerged a truly human response. We came together to support each other. From the emergency services, NHS to local community volunteers, a new community spirit was born. So, what impact did this have on the workplace?
Building a workplace community
Perhaps because of the renewed emphasis placed on community, many people started to hold values like purpose, connection and community above salary. They wanted to achieve something of value and meaning in their work, and to do it while enjoying a shared human experience. Today, those organisations that are able to build this sense of community into their workplaces are the ones that will see better productivity and lower rates of absence. Much of this is down to the mental health benefits of feeling a part of something. But what happens when employers fail to create this sense of connection?
The impact of workplace loneliness
Strong social connections and a sense of community are vital for both mental and physical wellbeing. Reduced contact with others can have a detrimental effect on both physical and mental health. Research by the UK Government on ‘Employers and loneliness’ found that loneliness and a lack of social connection at work can lead to decreased commitment, lower productivity levels and increased absenteeism. Employees who feel isolated may also appear less approachable and less likely to engage with their colleagues.
The business case
There’s a strong financial argument for why creating workplaces that build community is worth the effort. In 2022/23, around 875,000 workers in the UK experienced work-related stress, depression, or anxiety. This cost UK employers over £42 billion each year due to presenteeism (working while sick), sickness absence, and staff turnover. What’s more, the impact of severe loneliness has been estimated as £9,900 per person per year, due to the negative impact on wellbeing, health and productivity.
When employers work at creating a greater sense of connection and community, the results follow. Healthier and more socially engaged employees will see a noticeable improvement in terms of productivity. Well connected teams are demonstrably more productive, more motivated to go above and beyond with some studies showing increases of 20-25%.
The health benefits of connection and community
An improved sense of connection and community has been proven to bring increased levels of happiness, reduced stress, better resilience and improved mental health. What’s more, this may also contribute to a stronger immune system, a reduced risk of heart disease and may even help individuals live longer and healthier lives.
How can employers achieve this?
Employers have an opportunity to enjoy these health and productivity benefits by building stronger connections and interaction. Here are a few suggestions to help create that sense of community so important to mental wellbeing.
- Focus on shared goals: Activities that focus on shared goals help teams work better together. Simple activities like walking and eating lunch together or doing a quiz can encourage interactions and build team spirit.
- Bring purpose to being present: Being present in an office is the best way to re-discover connection and build relationships. But make sure there’s a purpose to the work and an opportunity to be social. The experience has to be different from working from home.
- Help your line managers to focus on people skills: The best line managers are interested in the person as much as the work they’ll be doing. Find out those things that others in the team might find interesting. It’s the little surprises that build rapport and connection.
- Organise team building: With this in mind, make plans to create activities that encourage interaction and collaboration outside of work-related tasks. And don’t forget, fun is allowed!
- Create a psychologically safe workplace: Fear of speaking out, of making mistakes and not having a voice can cause stress and loss of engagement. The best workplace communities recognise that we learn from failure and taking risks – and we often come up with the best ideas together as a result.
- Create a learning culture: Shared learning experiences build greater connection with both colleagues and the organisation as well as feeling valued. What can you do to introduce mentoring, courses and other ways to learn together?
- Celebrate success together: As well as the motivation gained from recognising individual and team achievements, you can turn this into social connection opportunities through team lunches, away days and gatherings to celebrate key milestones.
In conclusion
Building a stronger sense of community at work isn’t going to solve every cause of stress or anxiety – but it will go some way to help. In the workplace, communities help build support networks, and these connections aren’t only good for our mental health and wellbeing, they are good for productivity too. Today, many employees value community and connection just as much as their salary, which puts the emphasis on creating meaningful work and more sociable ways to work together.
Get our guide
We have produced a new Cordell Health guide on Mental Health Awareness and the Power of Community. This is available to subscribers to our wellbeing service. If you are not signed up to this service and would like to find out more, please contact us on wellbeing@cordellhealth.co.uk
About Mental Health Awareness Week
Find out more about this year’s campaign and how people and organisations can get involved. There’s a collection of useful resources too:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash.
