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Human connection in the virtual workplace - HOW institute report

Writer's picture: Ruth  Hills Ruth Hills

Updated: Oct 5, 2021

A new report by the HOW Institute shows that feeling connected at work - to one’s

coworkers, direct manager and organisation as a whole - is an important predictor of being not only engaged but also inspired at work. The How institute report also concludes that often leaders do not do enough to help foster a deeper, emotional connection and that this is a missed opportunity: The report states:


'while nearly two thirds of respondents consider more sharing of personal updates and feelings during check-ins to be effective for maintaining connection, only about one-third of respondents state that their direct manager exhibits these behaviours. This gap points to a missed opportunity....Notably of all the strategies, we found that sharing feelings (be they positive or negative) is the most predictive of whether respondents have felt more connected to their coworkers, direct managers and organisations since the beginning of the pandemic'


We fully agree with the HOW Institute. However, konektis interviews with regular Zoom/Teams users found that they are uncomfortable sharing emotions if they think no one is really listening (outlined in the 'vicious circle' - see explanation here). A simple solution - use hand signals; an easy way to show you are listening and to make a human connection. And everyone can 'speak' at once.


Read the How Institute report here.





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