When you have healthy, positive human connections you are happier, healthier and more productive. Join us as we explore how to build relationships in a covid world and what can happen if you fail to find people to relate to.

How can you have more joy, meaning and ease in the workplace – positive relationships and connections!!  Crina and Kirsten talk about the importance of positive relationships and connections in the workplace and how those affect our well-being in the workplace and our productivity and creativity of the workplace generally.

Crina shares her experience at TedWomen 2020 – where she had to gird herself for Zoom meetups with other attendees – something she actually dreaded.  After some procrastination pacing around her office (aka her eldest’s recently vacated bedroom), she endered Zoomland and found herself engaged and connected with other women- and her experience at TED was better for it.

This episode is not so much about friends in the workplace (although that is good stuff – and see Crina and Kirsten Get to Work Episode 1), but about positive human connection, which is the wonderful energy exchange between two people paying attention to each other.

And of course, our gals gotta talk science – why do positive connections make us feel good?  Why is our mental and physical health better – why are we even less likely to kick the bucket with positive connections?  Close relationships are linked to better health and support our miraculous biological systems, and are even thought to protect against the ravages of STRESS. 

When human connections are positive, then trust, cooperation and confidence build and our brains are activated in a way that encourages more of the same. Workplaces that have positive connections are more efficient, have better performance outcomes, less turnover and absenteeism – and fewer safety issues.  When workers have strong ties, innovation increases because workers feel safe to share and collaborate and take risks.

Crina and Kirsten share examples in their own workplaces and with friends and colleagues.  Kirsten shares a story about the co-worker who is abrupt and short with co-workers, and is not able to get support when facing a deadline because she did not create positive connections.  And conversely, she shares her own experience of a co-worker kindness opened the door to her asking questions that greatly improved the quality of her work. Crina shared that many of her clients are struggling in COVID to find positive connections in the workplace given that we do not have the everyday opportunities to connect when we are working from home.  And the lack of these positive connections has negatively impacted employees’ experience in work – and the work itself.

And challenge of the week – create a positive connection with someone in the workplace that you do not usually interact with.

And find the details of the science and the data – and lots of other great information in https://positivepsychology.com/positive-relationships-workplace/.