Work relationships are incredibly important to employee health. As human beings, we are hard-wired for connection. Employers who support social connections in the workplace and help employees form strong relationships help build a successful workforce. Consider the following:

• The almost 80-year-old Harvard Study of Adult Development found that relationships tremendously impact our health, happiness, and quality of life. It was also found that the quality of relationships mattered more than quantity.
• Research from Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, found that social connection is one of the greatest predictors of happiness and reduced stress.
• According to Mayo Clinic, “Adults with strong social support have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI).”

Unfortunately, work can be a lonely place for some employees, and even more so in the COVID world. The need to prioritize social connections is stronger than ever given these unprecedented times of physical distancing and remote work. Since it likely won’t be “business as usual” even when we can return to the same physical work location, new approaches will continue to be needed to foster healthy relationships at a distance.

Ideas for action:
• Promote use of cameras for virtual meetings. Seeing each other — even on a screen — helps foster social bonds between coworkers. It can also help maintain a healthy daily morning routine if we know we’re going to be on camera!

• Hold virtual coffee chats, lunch breaks, or other team building activities. Start a team chat where employees can connect just for fun over coffee or lunch and/or during team meetings. Ideas could include: a virtual book club, daily workout challenge, positive quotes, joke of the day, trivia questions, etc.

• Promote your EAP and other mental health resources to help employees who are dealing with social isolation and loneliness.

• Forward this Guided Connection Meditation: "The Web of Life" to your employees (scroll down to find this meditation on the page). This free meditation is designed specifically to foster a deeper sense of connection — both in the present moment and to those around you.

• Encourage your employees to get their COVID-19 vaccine when they are eligible to do so. We’re closer than ever to the end of this pandemic and being able to feel more safe and comfortable connecting with others in person again. You can now sign up to get a vaccine in Hennepin County's new vaccination registration system. You do not need to be a Hennepin County resident to register.

Once signed up, you will be contacted to make an appointment when you meet eligibility guidelines and we have availability for you. Registering for Hennepin County's vaccine program does not make you ineligible to sign up for other vaccine tools, including Minnesota's Vaccine Connector.

Continue to take precautions to combat the spread of the virus and get tested if you feel ill or think you’ve been exposed.

For the most up-to-date COVID-19 information, visit Hennepin County, Minnesota Department of Health, or Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.

• Share Stay socially connected while social distancing with your employees (below under Employee E-tips).

Click here to read this month's E-tips for your employees: "Stay socially connected while social distancing"

To share these E-tips with employees, you can:  

• Email the E-tips document to your staff as an attachment. 1) Click the link to download and save the E-tips to your computer. 2) Add your organization's logo in the bottom left corner. 3) Then send it as an email attachment to staff. 
• Print the document once you've added your organization's logo and post it in a common area in your workplace.
• Copy and paste the text into your organization's newsletter
  
  

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  Upcoming Health@Work events

  Step To It Challenge (April 7)

  Planning to launch Step To It in May? Why not sign up now for the April 7 training. At the training, you will learn to shift employees' mindset from "have to" to "get to," see how the “Atomic Habits” approach makes exercise a lifelong habit, and get all the materials you need to launch the challenge 

  Advancing Wellness Together (April 6)

  Sign up for this this free event on health equity in the workplace for a chance to learn, connect, and be inspired to take action! Hear Michelle Louis, Ph.D., Organizational Consultant and Professor, speak on "Building healthy workplace communities of safety and trust."  
  
  

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  Missed last month's E-tips?

  Click here to read our March E-tips on positive mental health for all.