Working isn’t only about the job itself, the pay and benefits, but also the company culture and, of course, its people.
Data has shown that workplace relationships are linked to job satisfaction, lower turnover, boosted collaboration, innovation and let’s say it together: happiness. Looking more closely to the lens of friendships, research shows majority of workers believe having a friend at work makes their job more enjoyable. Further to that point, SHRM research from 2023 showed that job satisfaction, sense of belonging and productivity are higher for people who indicated who have close friends at work.
Nidhi Tewari, licensed clinical social worker, workplace expert and author of “Working Well: How to Build a Happier, Healthier Workplace Through the Science of Attunement,” said, “Because we spend one-third of our lives at work, we want to spend that time working for organizations that we feel connected to. The quality of workplace relationships impacts a number of outcomes.”
Tewari conducted research with industrial and organizational psychologist Dr. Mallory McCord “to explore impact of workplace attunement, or the ability to be deeply aware of, responsive to and aligned with the emotional and interpersonal dynamics of colleagues, clients and the organizational environment, on outcomes like productivity, job satisfaction, trust and connection.” They discovered that more attuned leaders and teams experienced an improvement in trust and safety, deeper connections, higher job satisfaction and increased productivity.
“Attunement and connection are not only good for the organization, they are good for the bottom line,” said Tewari.
That said, the opposite — connection gaps — can also be impactful in a negative way “Connection gaps are missed opportunities for connection,” said Tewari. “They are the moments when what you needed emotionally differs from what you receive emotionally. You can identify connection gaps by becoming attuned, or in tune moment to moment, with your own emotional responses, as well as how others are responding to you.”
Here are a few examples of how to identify these gaps: After sharing something and feeling unheard, do you pull back? Is the person you gave advice to closing off their body language? Did they toggle to a different subject because they didn’t want to burden you?
Tewari pointed out four ways to connect effectively by way of attunement skills: flexibility, reading cues, self-regulation and collaboration. “Flexibility is the acknowledgment that different people require different approaches. It encompasses meeting people where they are, adapting behaviors accordingly and being sensitive and responsive to another person’s cues.”
Reading cues involves gauging what’s being said, as well as unsaid, in interactions that often go beyond the spoken word. It includes body language, demeanor, shifts in tone and language. Self-regulation is about your awareness and responsiveness and your ability to manage and modify them.
Source – https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/mind-gap-identify-connection-gaps-100000125.html