By Hannah Whitesides, Retreat Leader & Fear Management Specialist for our Company Virtual Retreats

Company leaders, look at your team members and state their name and one fun fact about them. Can you do it? If you can’t, you could be crippling your company’s progress. 

I hate the word “colleague.” It sets up an arms-length relationship right off the bat. Work shouldn’t be just work. We are all at work probably more than we’re at home so why isn’t our work environment and work relationships considered a vital part of our success both professionally and personally?

I am not going to tell you how to run your business or that your success is going to come from knowing a fun fact about your employee. But I am going to tell you what I know. I know that my success is determined by how comfortable I am with my superior and the level of support and encouragement they provide.

I know that when someone takes a genuine interest in me and my life I instinctively want to do better by them, as a friend, sibling, employee, whatever it may be. 

And I know that a person is only as strong as their mental health. 

“People do not switch off being people just because they are at work (People Managing People).” People want to be seen and heard even if they have nothing important to say. Isolation has been used for centuries as punishment because human connection is a crucial part of our being and we need it.

When you know your employees, you can tell when something is off or when they are not feeling well. Think about how many people experience domestic abuse at home and their team leads do not have a clue. Think about how many employees have mental breakdowns in the bathroom everyday at work and may be on the verge of ending their lives, yet managers tell them the show must go on. When you know your employee by more than just a hello, you are showing them that they matter to you and their wellbeing is personal to you too. We are each other’s keeper at work and in life because we are all human beings.

So why are we acting like building a closer and more connected relationship with our team members is unprofessional?

An individual's mental health will plummet if every day their environment induces the feeling of being alone in a crowded room. So ask yourself, what’s the true cost of my arm's-length relationship with my team?

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Project Passport is a proactive mental wellness company that aims to bring mental wellness retreats, workshops and other services to company teams. We also help women create joy in their lives every step of the way. To learn more about our company retreats and services, click here. To learn more about our tribe community for women, click here. Our travel retreats will resume in the future as the world reopens.