During Covid times, a lot has changed in our structures and habits and the routine of a normal week is disrupted. Social distancing, and restrictions in interactions has created an environment with very few personal interactions in a day. We all have biological, social, and psychological needs to stay mentally and physically healthy. We first of all need air, water, and glucose to survive. Next on the list is sleep, sleep is extremely important for us to function as human begin, both physically and mentally. Third on this list comes Positive relationships and being a part of a community.
The feeling of belonging to a tribe and a community, can come in many forms. Such as your team collaborations at work, your social work in the evenings, family dinners, or quality time with a close friend. Just a hug can boost your feeling of belonging, acceptance and safety greatly. These positive relationships make you feel safe, which is a very important feeling for your mental and psychological health. This is where we today, due to COVID, are finding a lot of challenges that I believe we have so far only seen the tip of the iceberg of.
How are you nurturing these positive relationships?
With introduced social distancing, circuit breakers, social limitations, and most work moving online, we are creating a world with no social interactions outside of our home. On top of this a lot of cultures are shifting towards people living alone for a longer period in their lives. People move away from home earlier and starting a family later in life. This means that a lot of people around the world are facing a huge challenge to stay mentally healthy.
For a lot of people the community interactions are limited to social interactions at work. Therefore, moving most of the work online can do a lot of harm. We are removing all physical aspects of social connections, disconnecting any other senses than the eyes and ears, minimizing small-talk and fun social work interactions, and reducing collaborative brainstorms and company functions. The end result is that the employees feeling of belonging to a community is greatly reduced.
As the world is starting to open up again, it is important to reassess our social behaviors. Both in terms of being physically healthy in relations to pandemics and the spread of viruses. But also, in terms of mental health and how we keep our positive relationships and feeling of community strong.
How are you making sure you have a strong tribe for rainy days?
