As managers, are we losing more and more brain cells? Or, are we becoming more productive and smarter? Most importantly, are we helping to develop organizational cultures that will support the development of healthy, productive employees and managers?
During our pandemic lockdown, I heard a lovely story about a local business owner. The business was a home design one with five project managers, each working on a separate client project. Every Friday at 4PM, the owner had a rule in the office to, “Down tools, relax, chat, eat and drink - and no work talk!”. When the lockdown occurred the project managers started working from home (WFH) – the project nature of their work was ideally suited – but they missed out on their Friday ‘social get-together’ (and their regular Monday Zoom work meetings were not sufficing).
Being a very clever manager, the business owner made a point of every Friday during lockdown, having delivered to her five project manager’s homes, cake/scones/tart (whatever she had cooked) and asked that everyone Zoom in at 4PM with their favourite beverage to join the social get-together.
This manager obviously realised the importance of social interaction at work – to build engagement, inclusiveness and ultimately, relationships. But how and why were her Friday office social get-togethers working so well? Did her creative lockdown sessions replicate the office ones?
Perhaps unknowingly even to this clever manager, she was involving all five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – in these Friday office sessions. Then when lockdown occurred, she ensured that four of the five were still being used, with the missing one being touch – the human touch.
In my article “What happens when you can’t shake hands anymore”, I discussed how important ‘touch’ is to our relationships, particularly how we feel about one another (both personal and in business) and the impact of the lack of our ability to touch one another when in isolation WFH.
So, in the WFH/Hybrid/Office debate now raging, one of the missing and yet very important elements is “How do we account for and include the need to use all five senses when deciding on what is the best working environment for both the employee and organisiation’s success?”.
And for organisational leaders, there may be another point to consider. According to Edward M. Hallowell in his HBR article “The Human Moment at Work”, “… people deprived of the human moment in their day-to-day business dealings are losing brain cells – literally – while those who cultivate the human moment are growing them”.
As Hallowell points out in his book “Shine”, “Simply put, connecting genuinely with other people (i.e., face-to-face, in person) makes you smarter, healthier and more productive. Being alone for extended periods reduces your mental acuity. These are medical facts, but facts many managers don’t appreciate or use.”
As managers, are we losing more and more brain cells? Or, are we becoming more productive and smarter? Most importantly, are we helping to develop organizational cultures that will support the development of healthy, productive employees and managers?
With the ever increasing dependence on internet communication which only caters for the senses of sight and sound, are we losing ‘sight’ of the need to include all five senses to develop effective working relationships?
And as Marco Favaloro in his recent Management-Issues article points out, 40 per cent of respondents in a recent poll, “lamented the lack of social connection, saying casual conversation is now a key challenge. Of course, pre-pandemic it was commonplace to bump into a colleague for a chat by the coffee machine, or head out together for lunch. The lack of such opportunities means that it has become hard to build that deeper connection with colleagues which makes everyday tasks and decision-making so much easier. UK respondents in particular confirmed getting to know new team members as the biggest challenge”.
Ah, now there might be some saying, “But surely, now with the development of advanced AI, we’re getting closer and closer to replicating the human connection”. Indeed, as the techno experts at IBM suggest, “Soon, online merchants will be using haptic technology to let customers ‘touch’ merchandise before purchasing it. The texture of an article of clothing could be simulated when the shopper is prompted to brush his or her finger over the item’s onscreen photo. Is it silky or rough? Soon, we’ll know”. Yes, but will we be able to touch one another through AI?
My intent in writing this article, is to get thinking managers, in working with the ‘new normal’ structures of work, to develop creative ways to include all five senses to build the personal relationships at work that are not only so important to the success of our organisations, but also to the ongoing success of us all in our ‘new’ world.
Love to hear your suggestions!