Thanks to all the new readers for signing up for The Reliants Project newsletter! Here are some nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community to help you actively cultivate yours.
Latest News
It’s a wrap! Season 1 of The Reliants Project podcast is complete and Season 2 is in the works. The episodes will shift focus from academic research to innovators that are applying these concepts to solve real-world problems. You’ll be the first to know when it has launched!
Wellbeing
Burnout at Work Isn’t Just About Exhaustion. It’s Also About Loneliness. This HBR article is based on the research of Emma Seppälä and Marissa King, who offer some suggestions for how to reduce loneliness in the workplace. In a recent interview Marissa King said:
“Beyond the consequences for our physical well-being and mental health, loneliness also has a negative effect on work performance. It impairs task performance and limits creativity. While loneliness is in and of itself problematic, it is also strongly correlated with burnout. On the flip side, people who report being in high-quality connections have higher cognitive function, more resilience at work, and higher levels of work engagement.”
Relationships
Not sure how many of you caught this priceless video. A Scottish lawmaker was in the middle of speaking when his cat, Rojo, walked between him and the camera. He later started sharing more pictures of Rojo on Twitter to appease the cat’s emerging fan base :].
Why does this matter? It’s one of the countless examples of how working from home is blurring the lines between work and rest of life. This is long overdue and has the opportunity to improve not only our relationships with people we work with but our relationship to work overall.
“Research from Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile suggests that people who have a best friend at work are happier and more productive, which makes them twice as likely to be engaged at work. Just 20% of people actually have strong friendships that they can rely on in the workplace.”
Community
In “The Moment We Noticed”, the crew behind The Relationship Project has pulled together stories of how communities have experienced the first 100 days of lockdown. From small individual gestures to grassroots efforts, it chronicles some of the observations, undercurrents and opportunities created by the circumstances. It also invites the wider community to engage in a dialogue about how to action what we’ve collectively learned.
“Making demands of others is out of kilter with the temper of the times. This is the moment to be thinking about what we can do together, rather than what others should do next. We all have a role to play in becoming Relationship Makers in the neighbourhoods where we live, the schools where we learn or teach, the organisations where we work.”
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About The Reliants Project
Reliant is my word for a person that someone depends on, an essential component of our social networks. With each edition, I’ll share useful nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community to help you actively cultivate yours. Whether you want to cultivate your relationships, make better introductions, or activate networks to make an impact in the world, let me help you reach your goals.
You can find more about The Reliants Project here.