“Social support is everything” – Jordan Knight

Work-face balance is not an indulgence. It is a necessity and a right. Luckily, most businesses are coming around to this way of thinking. This is not only an empathetic trend, but it is becoming clearer and clearer too all who work and employ that a thriving ‘rest and recreation’ section to people’s lives has a huge positive impact on workplace culture and doing good business in general. A healthy social life is a significant contributor to a healthy professional life.

I think it’s fair to say that quite a few people are guilty of focusing solely on career growth, and often neglect the value of strong social connections. Keeping a good social life running can significantly boost your work performance, mental wellbeing, and overall job satisfaction. So, in an effort to help you begin to use your social connections to boost your career, here are six ways that fostering relationships in your leisure time can enhance your professional life.

1. Burnout Prevention

Spending time with friends and family, and engaging in social activities are a natural stress reliever. Indeed, things such as fun and arguably trivial conversations, laughter, and shared experiences help to mediate cortisol levels. Feeling good after a night spent bowling with your mates, an afternoon spent at the cinema with your partner or a weekend spent camping with your family will send you into work refreshed and ready to make an impact and tackle tricky challenges.

2. Punch Up Communication Skills

Strong personal relationships outside of work improve your ability to communicate effectively in professional settings. This is largely because it improves one’s empathy, and the ability to see colleagues as feeling people with faults, feelings, preferences and points of view. Having meaningful conversations, active listening, and navigating unfamiliar social situations are all things that translate to the business world. Practising human connection will always be useful for the workplace.

3. Networking and Opportunities

This is truer in some industries than others, but social events can sometimes throw up unexpected relationships and opportunities. I’m in the creative industry, and this fact is 100% true in my line of business. Whether through friends, acquaintances, organised gatherings, networking in a relaxed environment can open doors to new collaborations, job offers, or valuable insights that benefit your career growth.

4. New-Ideas

Being social with a wider breadth of people from diverse backgrounds and industries can help you think differently and spark creativity. Innovation and invention usually come from an external, unexpected source.

5. EI

Social interactions help to build emotional intelligence, a key skill for workplace success (and indeed, strong and valuable personal relationships). Understanding emotions, managing relationships, and demonstrating empathy can strengthen leadership abilities, improve teamwork, and create a positive work culture.

6. Overall Work Satisfaction

Having a fulfilling social life contributes to a greater sense of happiness and wellbeing, which, in turn, leads to increased job satisfaction. When you feel supported and connected outside of work, you bring more positivity and motivation to your professional environment. So, make sure you make time for a social life. It is just as important as (and indeed, helps you towards) your career goals.

By Chris Thomson

 

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.