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Relationships at work are fraying. What can organizations do to rebuild social capital?

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Strengthening social capital

In the news

•

From loathing to liking. That annoying colleague? There’s probably something you can learn to like about them. After all, connection is what the divided world seems to need, says a psychology professor who studies existential isolation. Having a shared experience with someone and thinking that you’re both responding to it in similar ways helps bring people together, research shows. To try it, ask the coworker who frustrates you to hang out, and pick a bonding activity such as going to a sporting event or a concert. [WSJ]

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Best friends. Having close friendships at work makes life more fun—it’s also tied to important business outcomes, a 2022 Gallup study has found. People who have best friends at work are more likely than those who don’t to say that their companies are great places to work and to feel extremely satisfied with their jobs. They’re also less likely to be looking for a different job. To encourage workplace friendships, bosses can pair up new joiners with veteran workers who can help them get up to speed quickly. [HBR]

“Even when we looked at US workers’ connections outside of their company networks, less than 20% felt that those had grown.”

On McKinsey.com

•

Connectivity is crucial. Connectivity in the workplace is crucial for helping workers learn, innovate, and advance. But access to social capital is dwindling in today's workplaces, explain McKinsey senior partner John Parsons and partner Brooke Weddle. Fewer than 15% of employees report that their networks have grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a McKinsey survey of around 5,500 US workers from March 2022. Only around a fifth of employees feel more connected to people in their company network.

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The ties that bind. External ties are weakening, too: fewer than 20% of workers say that their connections outside of company networks have grown, McKinsey research shows. But there’s a lot that organizations can do to help rebuild connections. For example, they can educate employees on the importance of developing different kinds of social capital. Workers may not know that even weak ties can link them to different parts of an organization and open up new opportunities. Listen to the podcast for ways to rebuild social capital.

Understand social capital

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by "McKinsey On Point" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 12:35 - 27 Oct 2022

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Relationships at work are fraying. What can organizations do to rebuild social capital?

Strengthening social capital

In the news

“Even when we looked at US workers’ connections outside of their company networks, less than 20% felt that those had grown.”

On McKinsey.com

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

How to maintain a ‘Longpath’ mindset, even amid short-term crises

ADAS and DMS - White Label GPS Tracking Software

Relationships at work are fraying. What can organizations do to rebuild social capital?

Strengthening social capital﻿

In the news

“Even when we looked at US workers’ connections outside of their company networks, less than 20% felt that those had grown.”﻿

On McKinsey.com

Strengthening social capital

“Even when we looked at US workers’ connections outside of their company networks, less than 20% felt that those had grown.”