“Social connection is a fundamental human need, as essential to survival as food, water, and shelter,” writes US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in a recently sounded call to action. The Covid-pandemic heightened our awareness of the role social-connectedness plays in the workplace, and in life more generally. And the forced isolation that the pandemic entailed sharpened our sensitivity to how devastating it can be when social ties are disrupted or severed. Coming out of the pandemic, Dr. Murthy argues that the nation is confronted by an “Epidemic of Loneliness” — one that he characterizes as a “public health crisis.”1Tracking an original group of 724 men and more than 1,300 of their descendants over three generations, a recently reported Harvard study finds that close personal relationships are central to sustained physical health, mental health and to longevity.2 By contrast, poor social connection is associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, increased risk of anxiety, depression, dementia, and susceptibility to viruses and respiratory illness, the Surgeon General reports. In fact, “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”
“Social connection is a fundamental human need, as essential to survival as food, water, and shelter,” - Dr. Vivek Murthy
The impact of such loneliness is seen in workplaces, where inclusive relationships are associated with employee job satisfaction, creativity, competence, and performance. “Workplace connectedness is also associated with enhanced individual innovation, engagement, and quality of work, all of which can influence career advancements, income, and overall economic stability,” Dr. Murthy adds. By contrast, “Toxic workplaces are harmful to workers—to their mental health, and it turns out, to their physical health as well.”3
Coming out of the pandemic, an appreciation for the importance of workplace connectedness and well-being abounds.4 Consider, for example, a recent study warning that 1-in-4 employees report feeling they don’t “fit in” at work.5 Given popular awareness of this, LinkedIn has taken to offering guidance on how to boost belonging in the workplace.6 “What drives a culture of belonging?” Gallup asks rhetorically, before offering its own advice.7 Gartner suggests three ways to build greater belongingness at work.8 CultureAmp offers six.9 “People are asking themselves what they want out of work,” Dr. Murthy suggests. “They’re also asking themselves what they’re willing to sacrifice for work,” and these fundamental questions “are reshaping people’s relationships with the workplace.”10
In December 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority presented findings from a study into financial sector diversity and inclusion practices.11 “Diversity and inclusion, founded on a culture where it is safe to speak up, is essential for firms to have healthy cultures that help to deliver consumer protection and market integrity,” the FCA argues. While most of those consulted by the FCA reported feeling “committed and passionate” about increasing diversity and inclusion, the strategies for achieving this were generic, failed to take a holistic view, lacked a clear articulation of purpose and actions oriented towards achieving their stated goals, and offered no obvious means for tracking which trialed remedies were found to be most effective. “Very few firms seemed to have understood diversity and inclusion as a fundamental culture issue,” the FCA concluded, promising follow-up supervisory inquiry.
In Canada, BNP Paribas is working with consultants to improve a sense of inclusion in the workplace.12 Others may wish to follow suit. But they should beware engaging in what one academic study, released earlier this year, has described as “diversity washing.” Inquiring into whether US public companies made selective use of voluntary disclosures regarding diversity in an effort to prompt desired market responses, researchers found obvious discrepancies between companies' disclosed commitments and their actual hiring practices.13“We find diversity-washing firms obtain superior scores from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating organizations and attract investment from institutional investors with an ESG focus,” they report. Notably, however, these positive outcomes follow despite the fact that diversity-washing firms were also shown to be more likely to incur subsequent discrimination violations and to pay larger fines for these actions.
Perhaps with prompting from the FCA in mind, and after a well-publicized KPMG study suggesting that social class had overcome gender and race as a significant career barrier,14 the City of London Corporation — the body that oversees the city’s banking center — initiated a program focused on overcoming poor socio-economic diversity in the workplace.
Former Bank of England chief economist and co-chair of the task force, Andy Haldane, said: “For too long, personal growth has been constrained by people’s socio-economic background.” Recent academic research supports this view, one study showing that poor upward income mobility was tied to a lack of interaction, in schools and religious organizations, between those of lower socio-economic status and those of higher such status.15 It is reasonable to expect class divisions in the workplace to have similar effects. In the Preamble to our 2021 report, Haldane sounded a note of optimism. “For all of their collateral damage, crises allow a re-evaluation, a rethink and a refresh many of our behaviours and practices, whether as individuals, businesses, communities, or nation sates.” [See the Preamble to the 2021 Compendium] When it comes to workplace inclusivity, at least, such a rethink is in full evidence.
Other Articles in the Comments, Contributions, and Conclusions Series
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Hidden inexactitudes
“Radical Uncertainty”
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The real trouble with this world of ours
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Drifting into failure
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“Culture, more than rule books…”
“Proactive identification of threats to trust in banking.”
Blitzkrise
The illusion of control
What is Conduct Risk
“Changing banking for good”
Outcomes oriented
Achieving foresight
Trust matters
Mapping and tapping workplace networks
“An Epidemic of Loneliness”
The fourth wave
System shifts
Conduct: the new prudential risk
The costs of misconduct
Has banking changed for good?
Tribulations, and trials
Audit Quality Indicators
Shared interest and collective action
Nothing ventured…
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