Another way to think of the Great Resignation is as the “Great Disconnection.” In the wake of the pandemic and the vast shift to flexible work from anywhere policies, 65% of workers say they feel less connected to their coworkers. Employee disconnection is one of the main drivers of voluntary turnover, with lonely employees costing U.S. companies up to $406 billion a year.
#Connect
Research by Cigna shows that lonely employees have a higher risk of turnover, lower productivity, more missed days at work, and lower quality of work. Meanwhile, BetterUp found that employees who experience high levels of belonging have a drop in turnover risk, an increase in job performance, a reduction in sick days, and an increase in employer promoter score, which results in an annual savings of $52 million for a 10,000-person company.
The antidote to workplace disconnection is promoting friendship and meaningful connection at work. A 2019 report by The Institute of Leadership and Management found that building close relationships with colleagues was the most important factor in determining job satisfaction by 77% of respondents. Salary was eighth on the list. Gallup reports that only 30% of employees have a best friend at work, but those who do are seven times more engaged. Employees with a best friend at work are more likely to engage customers, produce better work, have higher well-being, and are less likely to get injured on the job. If employees don’t have a best friend at work, there’s only a 1 in 12 chance that they’ll be engaged. The peer coaching platform Imperative found that there’s only a 1% chance you will report being fulfilled in life if you lack meaningful relationships at work.
How do we stay connected?
There’s feedback and there’s guidance; there’s praise and there’s criticism. All of it is important to do better work, but to develop a better and more productive workplace and relationships — especially given how much time we spend at work! — the way we give and receive feedback really matters. “One of the great things about having a great boss,” observes Kim Scott, “is that a great boss will help you grow as a person. And for a lot of people, a big part of what gives work meaning is personal growth.” That’s another reason why feedback matters.
While it is quite possible to design a great communication architecture without one-on-one meetings, in most cases one-on-ones provide an excellent mechanism for information and ideas to flow up the organization. One-on-ones is free-form (more personalized) meetings for all the unsaid issues, unspoken ideas, and chronic frustrations that do not fit neatly into status reports, work emails, and other day-to-day work communication.
If you are an employee, how do you get feedback from your manager on an exciting, but only 25% formed the idea that you’re not sure is relevant without sounding like a fool? How do you point out that a colleague is blocking your progress for some unknown reason? How do you get help when you love your job, but your personal life is melting down? Through a status report? On email? Slack? Really? For these and other important areas of personalized discussions, one-on-ones are essential.
We practice one-on-one using our product Empuls. Anyone who has a team reporting to him/her can set up their one-on-ones and these are extremely helpful. Some good example questions for one-on-one are listed below: