This week I attended a virtual conference on workplace wellbeing. One of the sessions brought home to me how workplace connections have eroded as technology has exploded.

Welcome to the 165^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. In addition to the value of workplace connections, this week’s edition looks at neighbours offering rideshare services, transforming windows into solar panels, and the connection between endocrine disruptors and fertility.

On my mind this week: The sad decline of workplace connections

Modern technology has had a huge impact the volume of interactions in our day-to-day lives. Sadly, while we’re interacting more we’re not really making the social connections we need to sustain us.

Earlier this week I attended a virtual conference on workplace wellbeing. The conference sessions took a holistic view of wellbeing, including physical, social and financial elements.

I especially enjoyed a session on social interaction in the age of AI, presented by Nura Patani of Segal. The session focused on the unhealthy shift from human to technology in our workplaces.

Interacting but not connecting

Patani pointed out that getting things done in the past required interaction. Connection happened by default. We had to talk to people to meet our objectives. Contrast that world with today, when technology has enabled faster progress but has removed some of the friction. Connection in today’s workplaces, and society as a whole is a choice, not a default.

We should be concerned about the consequences of this shift for our overall wellbeing. In today’s workplaces, 84% of workers using AI report feeling lonely at work. Further, workers are increasingly turning to AI tools for support, with 74% having used AI for personal or social support at work.

So while the volume of interactions has exploded, workplace social connections have eroded.

Patani pointed out that real social connection requires four elements: trust, belonging, support and quality interactions. These elements and the resulting connections sustain people through hard days.

Looking back to my early career

The presentation was timely. I mentioned last week that I gathered with a group of former colleagues from Mutual Life, the company where I started my career in the retirement business. I worked at Mutual Life from 1990 to 2000.

In an earlier reflection on my career, I shared how work relationships matter more than the work itself. I still believe that to be true. Many of the people at last week’s reunion have been friends for years.

As I chatted with several friends from the leadership team I was a part of in my early days as a people leader, I was so grateful for the friendship and support I enjoyed from many of those people. We truly did have all four elements in abundance.

We discussed what a special time that was and how good it felt to know we always had someone to confide in, and how knowing that someone had our back when things went south contributed to our success as individuals and a team. Sadly, we also observed how we had seen a shift in the later years of our careers, and how many of today’s young workers will never experience what we did.

Proximity does not equal connection

As many employers recognize the value of connection and collaboration, they are forcing remote workers back into the office. But these leaders are missing a key point. The technology-driven nature of today’s workplace doesn’t support deep relationships and connection.

Proximity alone will not automatically lead to real social connections. Developing the type of relationships I had with my co-workers will take effort in today’s workplace. And in a world where we expect everything to be quick, easy, and frictionless, many aren’t willing to make that effort.

I hope courageous leaders figure it out soon because I truly believe real workplace connections will be the key to success for companies and individuals.

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• The Kitchener Rangers are Memorial Cup champions! After clinching the Ontario Hockey League crown a couple of weeks ago, our boys in blue went undefeated in the Memorial Cup tournament to claim the Canadian Hockey League title. On Tuesday, we went downtown for their victory parade. The sun shone and it was a fabulous day to celebrate this inspiring group of teenagers.
• I made a batch of cream of asparagus soup with fresh asparagus from a local farm. After savouring a bowl, I froze the rest to enjoy all winter.   
• On Friday, I caught a beautiful glimpse of the great blue heron on the pond during my morning walk. The pond was still so I snapped a shot of the heron and its mirror image.

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

Neighbours offer rideshare services

Lack of public transportation options outside of major urban areas present a growing challenge for a car-dependent aging population. But a community in central Vermont has developed a solution.

When someone needs a ride but can’t drive themselves, they can call up Free Wheelin’. Launched in 2019 by two friends who often drove their neighbours to medical appointments or errands, this almost entirely volunteer-run organization lets riders call a central number to schedule a ride at least two days in advance. Volunteer drivers sign up for slots that suit their schedule. 

Now that’s creative thinking and community spirit in action!

(Source: Reasons to be Cheerful)

Window coating turns glass into solar panels

Startup NEXT Energy has a solution that turns office building windows into solar panels using photovoltaic paint. This thin, transparent layer added directly onto glass during the manufacturing process, lets light through and converts light particles into electricity.

The wall surface area of the average skyscraper is 10 to 20 times the rooftop surface area. Although the window panels are less efficient than rooftop solar panels, the additional available surface area means window solar can offset up to 40% of a typical building’s energy needs.

(Source: Happy Eco News on YouTube)

The impact of endocrine disruptors on men’s health and fertility

One of the other sessions at the wellbeing conference focused on men’s health. I’ve written before about the harmful effects of endocrine disruptors like BPA, phthalates, and pesticides but the presentation highlighted the extent of the problem.

These endocrine disruptors are the leading driver of a 50% drop in sperm counts over the last 40 years. In fact, 40% to 50% of infertility is male factor, yet men are rarely investigated first when a couple experiences fertility issues.

Quote of the week

We expect more from technology and less from each other. We create technology to provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.

Sherry Turkle

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I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.