The workplace has seen some extensive changes in the past few years. While many outcomes have been good for business, there are some fallouts that have put companies under immense pressure. One such consequence is that there is more disconnection among teams. Although this may not seem like a leading issue, employee and team disconnection is often hazardous to those working there as well as to the company’s bottom line.
What are the dangers of a disconnected team? Often, as team members become more disconnected, there is a breakdown in communication and collaboration. These two detriments — along with other factors — can diminish productivity, not just for the team, but throughout the organization. A recent survey showed 86% of executives agree that a lack of efficient collaboration significantly contributes to company-wide failure.
The detriments of disconnection also impact employees on an individual level, causing personnel to feel lonely. In fact, research from Cigna, a leading multinational healthcare and insurance company, has shown that lonely employees cost U.S. companies up to $406 billion a year. How so? The findings revealed these lonely employees miss more workdays, have lower productivity, produce lower quality work, and are at a higher risk of turnover.
Being stuck in this state too long also fuels dissatisfaction and disengagement, which is often contagious, since bad attitudes rub off on others. What’s more, employees who are actively disengaged are more likely to struggle with negligence, health issues, and complacency. All this adds up to high rates of voluntary turnover as well as elevated company expenses.
On the flip side of this, employees who belong to a strongly connected team and experience high levels of belonging boost their company’s success. Building close relationships helps drive engagement and job satisfaction. The result is an increase in job performance, a decrease in sick days, and reduced turnover risk. Overall, there are plenty of reasons why an organization of any size simply can’t afford to turn a blind eye to employee disengagement and team disconnection.
Forging human connection is everyone’s job in the workplace. If loneliness and disengagement are to be combated, leaders must act sooner, rather than later. Fortunately, there are many ways to create a supportive environment with a strong team emphasis that can drive connection and productivity. If you want to learn more about how to create a more connected workplace, check out the accompanying resource from TeamBonding for further information.
Infographic created by Team Bonding, an in person team building activities business
