Which is More Powerful: A Group of Individuals or a Community?
Let’s start with celebrations.
The Fête begins today, and the village is buzzing!
It opens in the Town Hall, where photographs featuring the hands and faces of local shopkeepers and artisans in action are on display.
Children's rides and games open this evening, along with food trucks and a live band playing on the big stage as people dance late into the night.
Tomorrow, the entire village attends the Aioli, a community dinner centered around a traditional Provençal meal eaten to the serenade of old-time live music.
The fête continues throughout the weekend; it's a multi-generational celebration that honors people who keep the village ticking - owners and customers alike.
Nearly everyone attends. Parking is a nightmare.
Growing up in New Jersey, I attended the summer family cookout held by Johnson & Johnson, where my aunt worked. I was always game to go.
Held under a big tent, the kind at university graduations, there were games and rides for children, a great BBQ, and plenty of activities to keep adults occupied so the children could just run around.
My aunt called the cookout a carnival where people connected as colleagues and people. Work hard, play hard – that was the culture.
Nearly everyone attended. Parking was a nightmare.
What’s missing at work today?
The latest Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report found that eight of every ten employees are disengaged. I recently explained their findings this way on LinkedIn:
"Ten rowers are in a boat.
Two are engaged and rowing.
Six row when they feel like it.
And two are actively slowing the boat down (or trying to sink it)!"
I don't want to be on that boat.
"In this year's State of the Global Workplace report, we estimate that low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion. That's 9% of global GDP — enough to make the difference between success and failure for humanity.
Poor management leads to lost customers and lost profits, but it also leads to miserable lives. Gallup's research into well-being at work finds that having a job you hate is worse than being unemployed — and those negative emotions end up at home, impacting relationships with family. If you're not thriving at work, you're unlikely to be thriving at life." Gallup, 2023.
Let's make sure you read the Gallup quote closely:
"In this year's State of the Global Workplace report, we estimate that low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion. That's 9% of global GDP — enough to make the difference between success and failure for humanity."
[Insert dropped jaw.]
Disengaged people want
✅ recognition for rowing,
✅ clarity on their goals & expectations (how much rowing, when & to where?),
✅ a little time with their team captain (i.e., manager communication), and
✅ clear opportunities for career progression (e.g., when can they be captain?).
Oh – and people are lonely too.
EY's second annual Belonging Barometer 2.0 report – which surveyed over 5000 workers across Brazil, China, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. - found that 82% of respondents feel lonely at work.
According to EY's report, nearly half of those polled (49%) experience loneliness more now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Remote and hybrid work has supported flexibility, but let's face it, even those of us who love to work from home can find it lonely.
The solution? Connection.
People are human. We want to feel seen and heard and seek affiliation and community.
Yet, it's not uncommon for most companies – including the one I used to work for – to have cut spending on companywide celebrations and community bonding activities, like the J&J annual cookout (which was not only held in New Jersey, by the way).1 With a few exceptions, "community" (companywide) activities are often reserved for particular staff or senior staff groups.
And, it's still not commonplace for companies to celebrate individuals in the community context – like the photographs of shopkeepers and artisans on display for the Fête.
The economy is tough; I get it. But remember how much low (or no) engagement costs?
So, I'll ask my question again:
Which one is more powerful, a group of individuals or a community?
I wish I could cite a trustworthy study on this point – but I couldn't find any. Let me know if you know of any credible sources which include companywide events as part of their criteria for the best workplace.