When I think about my childhood, I remember playing wiffle ball in the cul-de-sac and riding bikes to the park to play with the gang of neighbourhood kids. I had a community. As an adult, I enjoy having a beer on a patio with friends, crying from laughter at family dinners and having rewarding conversations with colleagues, where we can exchange ideas and share our learnings. This is my community now; however, community as an adult isn’t as easy as grabbing your neighbourhood friends for a game of wiffle ball.  As a professional and as a friend, I have to be intentional about creating my community. Why such an emphasis on community? Since we emerged as a species on this planet, research has demonstrated time and time again that our brains are wired for it. 

Wired for community

Wired for community? I know that sounds kind of weird, but if you think about it; brain size typically correlates with the size of an animal - but we as humans don’t fit that mould. Why is that? Researchers believe that it's due to the size of our social groups. We are innately very social creatures, to the point that isolation and a lack of belonging has detrimental effects on our health and well-being. This is something many of us may be experiencing due to the current global pandemic and restrictions on gatherings. Connecting today means getting creative with our communities. 

Power of a Business Community

I don’t think it’s any secret that community is important;  it is one of the pillars of success for many businesses like Harley Davidson, Fitbit, Glossier, and Slack! It gives users with similar interests the opportunity to join together. Here at ConsciousWorks, we wanted to create a community platform for like-minded individuals aimed at turning corporate wellness on its head; that is why we launched ConsciousConnect! Changing the “status quo” of anything can be really difficult, especially if you do not have the support behind you. This is why we felt that creating a community where individuals who deal with similar issues (staffing, wellness, employee assistance programs) could have an inside look and foster collaboration, rather than competition, on approaching these subjects. 

Community in business matters. We are all trying our best, but at the end of the day, community is what makes our companies human and we owe it to ourselves and our teams to be a part of it. If you are in the need of a community to support employee wellness, check out ConsciousConnect.