It's All About the Face

I had a friend who used to refer to certain conversations as “eyeball to eyeball” conversations.  It made perfect sense to me then, and still does, that the most intimate, self-disclosing, or contentious of our day to day conversations would be best handled “in person”.  But there is a growing body of psychological research that suggests that more frequent face-to-face communication is also extremely important to our personal relationships, satisfaction and quality of life.

In a recent article on FastCompany.com, free-lance writer, Lisa Evans, summarizes some of the most interesting findings about face-to-face communication.  Evans quotes psychologist Susan Pinker, author of The Village Effect, who warns of the pitfalls of electronic communications when she writes “our growing lack of social contact is hindering our ability to build strong business relationships, and may also have a negative impact on our health and happiness.”

Real conversations actually cause us to release “feel good” hormones!

Susan Pinker discusses the role that face-to-face communication plays in the release of oxytocin, also called the cuddle chemical, as it’s the same hormone released in women breastfeeding to bond with their babies.

“While experts formerly viewed oxytocin as a female hormone, it’s now raising interest in the business community for its ability to facilitate trust. When people connect physically—through a handshake, a pat on the back or a high five—oxytocin is released, promoting feelings of attachment and trust, facilitating greater collaboration among team members.

Oxytocin plays a number of other important roles, such as boosting mood and improving our ability to learn and remember. Increased social contact has also been shown to dampen cortisol—the chemical that is released when we’re under stress.

These chemical reactions do not occur through email or even a Skype chat, but through real-life human-to-human contact. ‘The real-life connections that we all crave—that we’ve evolved to benefit from through many millennia of evolution—can’t be replaced by texting or email,’ says Pinker. Yet, rather than getting up to walk to a colleague’s desk, most of us will simply shoot off an email.”

There is no doubt that our electronic capabilities enhance our real time communication effectiveness, but the many benefits of face-to-face interactions are lost when we rely too heavily on our digital alternatives.

Real social contact boosts productivity!

In her book, Pinker cites various studies that show increased social contact can not only give our mood a boost, but our productivity as well. One such study of 25,000 call center agents demonstrates this clearly. In the experiment, employees were divided into two groups—one who took staggered breaks alone, and another who took breaks with their coworkers. Those who had an opportunity for 15 minutes to chat and socialize with coworkers showed a 20% increase in performance.

Social interaction makes us healthier!

Physical connectivity also delivers important health benefits. Numerous studies have shown that individuals who live active social lives recover from illness faster than those who are more isolated. A 2006 University of California, San Francisco study of 3,000 women with breast cancer found those with a large network of friends were four times as likely to survive the disease than women with fewer social connections. These connections involved face-to-face contact, not Facebook friends or Twitter followers.

Incorporating more face time in the workplace requires a rethink of communications. "We’ve been presented with a dilemma right now," says Pinker. "In business, digital connection with social media is considered to be the Holy Grail. It’s cheaper; it’s more convenient. But when it comes to worker productivity, happiness, and satisfaction, those companies that are focusing on face-to-face interaction are taking the lead in their industries."

Remote workers need real social contact too!

A census bureau report found that 13.4 million people worked from home at least one day per week in 2010 and the remote workforce grew 80 % between 2005 and 2012.  So, how can we bring these real social contact benefits to our remote working relationships.  I suggest the following:

• Connect daily with remote workers. Be sure to add pleasantries to your correspondence. 

• Make time to chat.  Don’t stay so focused on business that you forget that there is real person on the other end of the phone or keyboard. Ask questions and share personal information.

• Pick up the phone to share good news or to recognize efforts. Acknowledge personal milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries as well as business accomplishments.

• Embrace the “virtual team”. Facilitate team time for remote workers with team calls that allow for casual conversation.  Schedule a remote worker coffee break.

Relationships matter and the best ones are built on genuine, good old-fashioned eyeball-to-eyeball connections. So get up and walk around or at least pick up the phone and connect!

image credit: imgarcade.com