Promote workplace friendships and drive both collaboration and creativity

With more than 30 years of management experience at all levels and as an experienced mediator, facilitator, and conflict resolution expert, I want to offer insights into promoting friendships at work when managing or leading others. These friendships boost morale and enhance employee creativity and collaboration, resulting in better performance and a better bottom line. Having gone through COVID-19, with remote work environments, we now have data on both the benefits and drawbacks of remote work and with various approaches to requiring employees to return to the office.

One of the key findings from studies conducted by Oxford and the University of Pittsburgh is that “remote teams were found to be less likely to make breakthrough discoveries compared to those who work on-site, according to research led by the universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh into the rise of remote collaborations among scientists and inventors worldwide.”[i]

Quality research is ongoing, but it seems certain that remote work makes it “harder for teams to integrate effectively to deliver breakthroughs.” Many employees working remotely feel isolated, lonely, and disheartened. This is especially true with recent college graduates, who do not have the opportunity to gain insights and skills from other peer interactions and mentoring relationships.

Ordering all employees back to the office has negative impacts

A knee-jerk reaction like ordering all employees back into the office has had catastrophic consequences. Studies have shown no increase in financial impacts but very negative impacts on employee morale and willingness to contribute. Moreover, increased turnover results in additional hiring and training costs and a loss in productivity.

How to bring employees back with appropriate communication, considering employees' situations, while demonstrating care and consideration has often been left out of the picture. Unless the intention is to downsize the workforce, return-to-work policies need to be addressed professionally and with employee input. As Professor Mark Ma’s research at the University of Pittsburgh demonstrates, management is now rethinking those mandates. So, how can companies improve collaboration and creativity?

Improving friendships, collaboration, and creativity

The first point is that relationships matter. So, what can be done to promote authentic, caring relationships with others at work? Promoting work relationships takes effort and nurturing. This is particularly true with those who are in their 20s and those who have not been in the office as part of their career development due to the pandemic. How can these employees meet and interact with others? Older employees have commitments with spouses and children, established friendships, and other activities. For those who feel isolated, what can be done to make them feel more included, connected with others, related to others, and having a means to socialize? These employees should be encouraged to explore social media, network with others at work, and look for common interests.

Humans thrive in social groups. In Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind, the author points out that loyalty, pride, and enthusiasm go a long way toward promoting a common culture, mutual understanding, and reduce conflicts. So how can you build these elements into your team and culture for those who feel left out? 

We build social inclusivity with eye contact, human interaction, listening actively, having fun, laughing, and connecting with others.

Henry Ford offered, “If there is one secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from their angle as well as yours.” Everyone wants to be listened to. Make a point of listening actively and think about what else you may be asking.

Work needs to be seen as a village, not simply as a place to accomplish a task. Encourage opportunities for connection. What are some ways we can build a village?

• Have a meal the evening before a meeting or lunch during or after a meeting
• Leave time at the meeting for “gossiping around the water cooler”
• Create downtime for interaction between employees and groups
• Use team-building exercises with downtime to talk
• Go for a walk or a game together and talk

Make sure everyone is included in the activity. Ask members of the group for their ideas. Try some of their ideas. Not all suggestions will be successful. That’s fine. That is to be expected. Explore brainstorming and prioritizing ideas, try some of the ideas, determine the impacts, and evaluate them to decide what you may want to try again in the future. Be thoughtful and design activities to promote and develop friendships.

Coach new members by sharing open-ended questions to ask each other and the group. For example:

• What have you been thinking about lately?
• What is your story?
• What was the highlight of your week?
• Tell me about yourself.
• What are you working on currently?
• What is your passion?

Just as educators have found that children who have recess do better academically, so it is at work when employees have time to build friendships with others. Children who have time for recess at school are healthier, develop better social skills, are more creative, develop leadership skills, have fewer conflicts, and develop conflict resolution skills. Let’s learn from our children and apply similar aspects at work. We want to enhance these same skills with those we work with and lead.

At work, if we design an opportunity space where employees can meet, connect, and learn about each other and allow interaction between different business units, each person may learn that the others in the group are not the devil incarnate. In fact, they may learn that other groups have nice people, too. What are the elements that can bring people together?

At the University of Pittsburgh, colleagues formed a singing group. After the first hour of singing together, members began to bond like long-lost friends. 

Activities that involve laughter are found to be very constructive.

Some activities should be left to be spontaneous. Focus on opportunity, space, and a context to connect with others. Allow time for people to interact and ask questions about each other. Let members search for common interests related to hobbies, habits, vacations, pets, family, friends, etc. When this happens, it may allow for further understanding and willingness to help one another in the work setting.

By building up these interpersonal bonds, it is possible for leaders to positively develop a sense of community. However, if resistance to the community becomes too strong with some individuals, HR and management oversight may be needed as the group may also work to protect a member who has performance issues.

Learn from small communities that know each other and can trust one another with unlocked doors. Keeping doors open helps members self-police because everyone trusts everyone and knows each other. Self-policing is the ultimate result of friendships in action.

With the above comments in mind, what are things you could explore with others or your group to enhance social interactions with one another? Please let me know your thoughts and experiences in the feedback space.

Also, if you want to learn more about my publications on collaboration, conflict resolution, or enhancing your servant manager skills, which focus on leading by serving and understanding the needs of your team members, please feel free to reach out.