As a mediation and negotiation specialist, I know that developing relationships with others and listening actively are extremely important when working towards a common goal. With our use of virtual world technologies, does physical proximity make a difference in collaboration? Yes, it does, but according to recent research on this topic, the lack of being at the same location can be addressed with strong social ties to bridge the gaps of virtual mediation, negotiation, or collaboration.
The trend in the office
Many firms have taken to requiring certain employees to be in the office x number of days a week. Firms like Walmart, Amazon, JP Morgan, Disney, and X (Twitter)[i]. Why have they done this? Many executives believe in-person interactions allow for greater collaboration, innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. They believe there is a need to promote their own corporate culture. There is some apprehension that some employees need greater oversight. With in-office interactions, training, and mentorship can be enhanced. Finally, many employers have invested significantly in real estate office space and want to justify these expenses.
There is strong traditional thinking that face-to-face and proximity leads to better collaboration and communication.
All this having been said, there are still many interactions that will still take place virtually. It is not possible to put the “genie back in the bottle.” How much time one spends in the office needs to be evaluated in terms of social proximity.
What has research taught us?
In a recent article, two professors, Manuel Sosa and Massimo Maoret, shared their research on this topic. They found that social closeness, which they called strong direct and indirect connections, can actually offset physical proximity. When people are not near each other and work with each other remotely, there is a need to develop strong social connections to enhance collaboration. They refer to “physical proximity and social closeness” as substitutes for each other.
Their research showed that “physical and social proximity were positively correlated to promote collaboration.”
Being around others fosters closeness and trust. People get to know one another. When this happens, it allows for greater understanding, a sense of humor to develop, and the ability to be familiar with each other. This contributes to better relationships and increased productivity.
But the research does not stop there. More importantly, it points out that efforts must be encouraged and reinforced, and time needs to be set aside for reaching out and developing relationships with remote or hybrid employees. It doesn’t happen on its own. For example, the first time you meet a future business contact, it is most important to take action to initiate an open, honest dialogue that will promote trust. With your actions and follow-up actions, it may be possible to reinforce that relationship with frequent interactions to build a stronger bond. Applying this to remote interactions means time needs to be set aside from the beginning to develop an authentic, connecting relationship. It is essential to have positive feelings for others. Having familiarity, developing trust, and having a good interpersonal relationship are extremely important in enhancing understanding.
Social ties
When you have strong social ties, you are more motivated to work with others. The parties are also more motivated to spend time and work well with one another. Both parties see the need to improve their relationship. Having shared contacts develops a “safe space” to work with each other, learn about each other, and build trust. As a result, collaboration is enhanced. The researchers found that if actions were taken to strengthen social ties, there was no difference in whether there was proximity or not. This was an important finding.
Social closeness has as much impact as physical proximity.
This also demonstrates that the organization should set aside time to build social ties if you work with remote or hybrid employees. Individuals can be just as productive or even more productive if they have strong social ties with one another. Proximity by itself does not enhance productivity.
The Collaboration Effect and This Study
The Collaboration Effect is all about building authentic connecting relationships, listening actively to others, and educating others on how they want to be educated to build bridges and negotiate closure. Building on Sosa and Maoret’s article, whether employees are in proximity is not the key. The key is to design workspaces and informal areas that promote informal interactions. These can be break areas, virtual cafes, virtual coffees, or other setups to promote and encourage the building of social networks at work physically or virtually.
As presented above, this needs to be intentional. It does not naturally happen on its own.
Whether in person, physically, or remotely, social proximity is the key.
When someone new enters the group, it is imperative that the group welcomes the newcomer and demonstrates and encourages social closeness. Offer newcomers support. Informal gatherings like lunch, coffee, and socializing are critical.
Ordering people back to the office, expecting social closeness, given physical proximity in a cube, is not the answer. This opportunity is lost if individuals report to work, stay in their cube, and do not interact with others to build social closeness. Efforts must be made to foster camaraderie in the office or with remote employees.
The solution requires creativity with your group. What might work for them given schedules, outside work commitments, and other priorities? Think of this as an opportunity. How can you leverage technology, time, resources, and interests to enhance relationships and build social closeness? By involving other team members and developing something that works for you and them, you can demonstrate your prioritization on developing authentic connecting relationships to foster understanding, caring, kindness, and commitment. Building thriving, productive, successful relationships can be built by creatively overcoming barriers with a team effort.
As you work to improve physical and social proximity, here are three texts that may help you address conflict in the workplace, enhance servant-manager skills, and collaborate more effectively with others.
[i] https://arcrelocation.com/back-to-office-mandates/