Loneliness in general is rampant; studies conducted before the pandemic suggest that three out of five Americans are lonely, and a dearth of meaningful workplace relationships are a huge contributor to that. I’d imagine that given the spike of social isolation during the pandemic, those numbers are even worse now.

And in terms of the impact of loneliness on the workplace specifically, according to recent research, only 20% of employees “strongly agree” that they have a best friend at work. But if that percentage could budge to just 60%, companies would yield 12% higher profit, end up with 36% fewer safety incidents, and gain 7% more engaged customers.

So, if you’re in a position to influence the culture of your workplace, what can you do to create a culture of social connection at work?

Ashley KirsnerApril 1, 2021pandemic, covid, covid19, covid-19, loneliness, lonely, lonely at work, lonely at the office, office loneliness, office, work, work loneliness, working from home, alone, connection, team-building, team-building events, team building that isn't cheesy, team building events that aren't cheesy, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, blog, blog post, blogpost, work boundary, work boundaries, work-life balance, work life balance, research, psychology research, psychology studies, loneliness stats, work loneliness stats, loneliness at work stats, online team-building, online team building, online team building events, online team-building events, online team-building event, online team building event, workplace loneliness, reduce workplace loneliness, how to reduce loneliness, how to reduce workplace loneliness, how to fix loneliness, belonging, best team-building event, best team-building events, best team building event, best team building eventsComment

How to *really* help after a communal tragedy

After national tragedies, we often see an outpouring of support in the forms of donations and volunteer efforts.

And that’s a beautiful thing; humans empathize, feel the pain of others, and want to do whatever they can to alleviate that pain.

The potential problem with that is that often, while the underlying problems that cause these national tragedies are ongoing, the efforts to address them end up being short-lasting.

So how can we use the momentum we feel today to create long-lasting action that doesn’t burn us out? Here are some tips

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The surprising secret to productivity

If you’re American, chances are that you’re bad at resting.

It’s not your fault; it’s deeply engrained in American culture that we need to “earn” our rests.

But we have it backwards.

We can’t expect to be productive in order to earn our rests; we actually NEED rest FIRST in order to be productive.

Ashley KirsnerMarch 10, 2021productive, productivity, hacks, productivity hacks, Skip the Small Talk, Skip the Small Talk blog, Skip the Small Talk blogpost, Skip the Small Talk blog post, blog, blog post, blogpost, psychology, psychology research, alone with my thoughts, alone with your thoughts, meditation, meditating, rest, restfulness, sleep, get enough sleep, meditate, resting, art, capitalism, American culture, America, American, how to be more productive, how to be productie, how to be productive, how can I be productive, how can I be more productive, I feel distracted, distracted, distractions, how to lower distractions, how to get rid of distractions, work, workplace, workplace advice, work advice, how to do better at work, how to be a better worker, how to be a better employee, how to add value, how to add more value, add value, add more value, take a break, how to take a break, how to rest, how to get rest, doodling, spending time in nature, nature, the surprising secret to productivity, secret to productivity, productivity hack, how to be more productive at work, capitalist Comment

Why you need self-compassion in your life and how to do it (even when you don’t want to)

At Skip the Small Talks, we ask attendees to have compassion for others and for themselves as they try out new ways to hold conversations. It’s probably obvious why we care about people having compassion for each other at an event where strangers are getting to know each other for the first time, but equally if not more important in that context is self-compassion. That’s because any attempt at change or improvement generally goes much more smoothly if you’re not beating yourself up after every setback. Connecting genuinely often requires taking some risks (like sharing things that feel a little vulnerable), and having compassion for yourself when those risks don’t pan out the way you hope can help you continue taking some risks in the long-term, and can help make the learning process easier for you in the short-term.

BlogAshley KirsnerApril 5, 2018compassion, self-compassion, Skip the Small Talk, blogpost, skip the small talk, hotline, suicide hotline, listening, talking, self-love, vulnerability, genuine, communicating, communication, communication skills, coping skills, coping, distress tolerance, tolerating distress, resilience, psychological well-being, well-being, happiness, mood, happy, friends, friendship, strenghts, positive psychology, positivity, help, criticism, critique, be kind to yourself, worthy, worthiness, you are worthy, self-talk, positive self-talk, mental health, mental wellness, Skip the Small Talks, authentic, conversations, conversation, evolutionary psychology, evolution, negative, negativity bias, negativity, gratitude, asking for help, reaching out for help, reach out for help, reach out, reaching outComment

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