My husband and I both work from home. And we adore it.
We can work in sweatpants. We have the flexibility to drop off and pick up our kids from school. We pretty much do what we want when we want. And did I mention we can work in sweatpants?
In many ways, it’s exactly how we want it to be. Except for one rather large thing.
In the last 12 months, we’ve noticed an unfortunate consequence of our new virtual life.
It’s harder to connect. Both with one another and with others.
Let me explain.
Connecting At Home
It’s difficult to connect to each other because we’re always plugged in, ready to work. Our mobile devices are not easy to walk away from. And we no longer leave our work at work. So, giving the other person (and our family) our undivided attention is harder than it used to be.
Connecting At Work
My husband has also noticed a higher number of people leaving his company because they feel disconnected. You see, in a virtual world you sometimes trade connection for flexibility. And if your employees don’t feel connected to you as a team member, they’ll never feel loyal enough to stay working there. They also won’t be happy doing what they do for long.
What to Do
It’s a catch-22, but there are ways to help. We’ve found these questions to get to know you to be incredibly helpful with colleagues and friends. And deeper thought provoking questions to be important in our own unique relationship.
Setting boundaries on our devices has also helped tremendously. But it’s something you must do with intention and consistency.
In Conclusion
If you’re not connecting face to face with others, you’re losing out on the feeling of companionship, happiness, and peace that having deep relationships give. (This is proven by science!) So yes, it might be a little extra effort, but reaching out to others is almost always worth it.
If you live in a virtual work world too, how can you connect a bit deeper with others today?