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The cornerstone of employee wellbeing: Meaningful connection
Would you rather receive a 10% salary increase or experience better relationships with colleagues?
Hubspot haver just released the findings of their ‘2023 Hybrid Work Report: The Age of Connection’ which surveyed 5,058 employees globally (500 in the UK).
What did they find? 52% would opt for better relationships with colleagues.
The motivation behind this research was rooted in Hubspot’s awareness that COVID-19 totally transformed workforce dynamics.
So, they delved into their own hybrid strategy to uncover what worked and what failed. This was a big undertaking, which involved eliciting opinions from employees across 10 markets who worked at home (63%), at the office (8%) and a mixture of both (28%).
The bottom line: “Prioritizing connection is the key to driving growth, engagement and building a company that employees truly love.”
Let’s look closely at the headlines:
- Connection to culture and purpose does not imply connection to colleagues.
Only 34% of employees felt strongly connected to their colleagues even though 70% and 69% felt connected to the company culture and purpose respectively. This trend remained stable across working environments.
- Connection is fundamental for retention.
Regardless of work environment, having a close friend at work was more important for retention that a connection to the company’s mission or purpose.
- Connection is fused with wellbeing
47% of those with a strong connection to company culture reported excellent mental health compared to just 9% who reported a weak connection. Conversely, 27% of employees with a weak connection to company culture reported poor mental health compared to just 2% who reported a strong connection.
- Connection is interwoven with performance.
Feeling connected to both the company and other colleagues increased alignment, problem solving and strengthened customer experience. In fact, 46% of those with a strong connection to company culture strongly agreed that they could build customer connections no matter their work environment. This contrasts with just 19% of those who felt weakly connected with their company culture.
- Connection is more important for older generations.
67% of employees aged 65+ cited relationships as a motivating factor to remain in their current organisation compared with only 9% who cited mental health initiatives. For younger generations, however, mental health initiatives took a slight priority over relationships.
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Date: 28th March 2023