We all have heard of the famous saying by Aristotle: ‘man by nature is a social animal’. In order to survive in this world we need assistance from our fellow beings. Such is the importance of human interactions and social bonding that Maslow placed love and belonging right below psychological and safety needs in his ‘hierarchy of needs’. Truth is without each other we as individuals cannot thrive in our society. As a community not only do we support each other physically but also fulfill each other’s emotional needs. 

A majority of use working adults spend most of our day in our offices. According to an article by Gettysburg College, on an average, people spend more than 90,000 hours of their lifetime at their jobs. This implies that our jobs have a direct impact on our personal lives, our health and our relationships. Considering how much of our lives are dedicated to our jobs, having social bonding and a strong community with in our workplaces is of a great importance. As we spend a large chunk of our day with our colleagues rather than our families, it is crucial to have a healthy bond with the people we work with. 

The nature of social networking and interaction at a workplace does not only have an impact on the lives of the employees,

Here’s how positive corporate social networking impacts an organization: 

It increases employee engagement and productivity

Having friendly and cordial relationships with coworkers is important for employee growth, engagement and productivity. When you’re doing a job that enjoy and love you would naturally become more engaged and focus. Friends at a workplace can have a huge impact on your performance. For starters they make your job bearable and interesting. They act as stress relievers and help you in times of need. They motivate you and push you in giving your best shot. A study that included 168 employees, revealed that strong interpersonal relationships within a workplace greatly increases the productivity of the employees.

Read More – 6 Productivity Killers That Are Costing Your Business A Fortune 

Breaking down of silos

Silos refers to compartmentalization with in a workplace. It may occur within employees of the same department, teams or within different departments of the same organization. For any company, silos is like a cancer that slowly destroys it. It seeps into the roots of a company, leading to its downfall. Lack of communication and trust within the employees plays a huge role in creating a silos mentality in a workplace. 

As an employer it is important to ensure that all of the employees in your company are working together as a single unit that benefits the company as a whole rather than working within self-created teams that benefit them personally. For that there needs to be platforms for communication within employees regardless of their departments and positions. Having social events such as parties and soirees, and team building activities are a great way to promote employee bonding and friendship. They give a chance for employees to interact with each other outside their workplace and gives them a chance to understand each other better. 

Creating a positive workplace environment

Studies have shown that a positive workplace environment greatly improves employee productivity and has a direct relationship with the success of that company. In fact, many employees stay at their jobs because of the environment even if they feel that their salary is less. Recent times have seen many companies such as Uber, suffer a great loss because of a toxic environment. On the other hand famous companies such as Google, Indeed, Zoom and Microsoft are continuing to grow because of their excellent workplace culture. 

A positive workplace environment can only be created if the employees within that organization are well coordinated, respected, valued and appreciated. It hugely depends on interpersonal relationship between the employees. Promoting social networking and bonding within the employees and providing venues for positive interaction between the employees help creating a positive culture at your workplace.

Improvement in employee health and emotional well being

Since we spend so much of our time at our jobs, our relationship with our employees has a great impact on our health and emotional wellbeing. It has been proven scientifically that when employees feel stressed and isolated at their workplace, the part of their brain responsible for physical pain gets activated, causing them emotional as well as physical harm. Moreover, workplace bullying, harassment and mistreatment is one of the biggest reasons why many people suffer from stress, anxiety, depression and mental health issues. Prolonged stress may even leads to heart problems and hypertension. 

On the contrary, having a good relationship with their colleagues, improves physical and emotional health of the employees. Whatever misunderstandings or personal issues your employees might be having with each other can be resolved if they are provided with platforms for healthy and effective communication such as Workspee.

Increase employee satisfaction and retention rate

When employees have positive workplace relations they feel more happy and satisfied at their jobs. According to a study, employee satisfaction increases by 50% if they have a close bond with their colleagues. A strong bond of trust, respect ad friendship with their coworkers makes employees feel happier and satisfied at their jobs. 

When employees are satisfied with where they work, they are less likely to leave it. This means that a company that has a strong workplace culture has a greater rate of employee retention. 

Keeping in mind the significance of corporate relationships, it is important for employers to create a healthy and positive workspace for their employees that promotes interpersonal bonding and relations. By having regular off hour activities, team building tasks, and collaborative projects you can greatly improve the relationship between your employees. Workspee provides an effective platform to employees where they can communicate, connect and collaborate with each other.