Study: Most Employees Feel Connected at Work, but Managers, Don’t Become Complacent

As organizations contend with increasingly dispersed workforces, new research by a leading employee communication and workflow platform finds that 93% of employees feel connected to their coworkers. More than half of them (56%) even feel “very connected.”

That’s terrific news, especially considering how workforces have been through the wringer the past two-and-a-half years.

“Relationships are so important to our sense of connection at work; they are the building blocks of any successful organization,” Brent Pearson, founder and chief executive officer of Enboarder, which released the research, says in a statement. “The work you do to foster relationships and connection drives business results.”

Enboarder surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based employees in August 2022 to understand employee connections in the workplace, how employers facilitate (or hinder) those interactions, and notable workplace outcomes based on connectedness. The results indicate that human connection in the workplace markedly improved over the past year. When Enboarder surveyed employees in August 2021, only 83% felt connected to their coworkers, and just 31% felt very connected. The “Human Connection in the Workplace Survey” also found that connected employees are twice as likely to believe their workplace is innovative and feel motivated to go above and beyond.

“In a time when there is low unemployment and high employee turnover, it’s crucial that organizations create better human connections across their team, inviting engagement and building alignment along every step of the employee experience — from onboarding to learning and development, performance management, career growth, organizational change, and every moment and milestone along the way,” Pearson says.

Factors that lead to disconnectedness

While the state of human connection in the workplace has improved over the past 12 months, Enboarder officials emphasize that organizations cannot lose sight of things that could hinder this progress. The report found that an unsupportive or passive manager (29%), lack of transparency (26%), and working remotely (19%) are top factors in generating disconnectedness among employees.

Other key findings from Enboarder’s new report:

• The office is now a means to build stronger relationships with coworkers.

Prior to the pandemic, the office was mostly a place to do work. Today, employees see the office as a community hub, a place where completing work comes second. More than half (57%) of hybrid and full-time in-office respondents cited the ability to form stronger relationships as the No. 1 most important benefit of going into the office.

• Connection drives down turnover.

Employees who feel connected are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs (96%) versus employees who feel disconnected (60%). What’s more, only 13% of connected employees expect to leave their current role within 12 months compared to nearly one-quarter of disconnected employees (24%).

• Virtual bonding events aren’t enough for remote employees.

Nearly three-quarters (63%) of full-time remote employees say they feel disconnected. Enboarder officials note that organizations can’t rely on virtual bonding events to forge lasting connections, especially for remote and hybrid workers. Employees across all work situations identified team meetings and one-on-one sessions with managers as two of the top activities that help them feel connected in the workplace; virtual bonding events ranked among the lowest two activities for all groups.

• Millennial and Gen Z managers struggle most in driving connection.

The absence of a good manager plays a significant role in employees’ level of connection and engagement with their company. Enboarder found very disconnected employees are twice as likely to cite an unsupportive manager. From the manager’s perspective, half of respondents who manage people admit they struggle to provide enough human connection. That number jumps to 60% for millennial managers and to 65% for Gen Z managers — compared to Gen X (42%) and baby boomers (32%).