Why Community & Connection Matter in a Digital World

Our world has been shaped by distance in the past year. Whether we’ve had to cancel big work events or skip our daily exchanges in the office, everyone has missed out on gathering together. 

Beyond the immense economic and emotional toll that COVID-19 has inflicted, it has also measurably limited and altered the way that we connect with one another. Many of our social events have become digital, as people gather online to brainstorm, share meals and watch performances together — at a distance — from the front row of their couch or their dining room table. 

Events like the Super Bowl, where traditionally, most people would be gathering around a TV in person, had to dream up inventive tweaks to the program. The crowds were replaced by cardboard cutouts and custom crowd sounds mixed by NFL sound engineers. During the game, friends had to post their comments on the action on social media, rather than chatting face to face.  

As we contemplate the long-standing effects of this crisis on how we gather and how we work as a society, one thing is clear: collaboration and connection are essential ingredients for moving forward. 

What’s lost through a screen

The flexibility that remote work has given some people during the pandemic, though, has had significant benefits. Wen Fan, an assistant professor of sociology at Boston College, studies the effects of distributed work. She emphasizes that saving the time that they used to spend on their commute has made it easier for many people to manage their work, family, and personal lives. 

At the same time, we know that social isolation has adverse effects on health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite research that links loneliness to a myriad of serious health issues. Scientists are also documenting the effects of enforced time at home during the pandemic on mental health, showing a stark rise in anxiety, depression and substance abuse. 

Wen has found in her research that distributed work has its downsides. “The qualitative data we have collected suggest that many of those who have been working from home really miss the social component of work, whether it is co-workers, clients, business partners, or community members. This is especially the case for those who live by themselves,” she notes. 

Meaningful social connections don’t just include your closest colleagues. They involve the “village” that you interact with every day: the barista at the coffee shop in your office lobby, the acquaintance who works in a different department. Studies have shown that there’s a direct correlation between the number of “weak ties” or acquaintances that an individual interacts with and the level of happiness they experience. These looser social networks underpin the fabric of a meaningful life. 

The kind of loneliness Wen alludes to not only contributes to poor health, but also leads to burnout, which comes at a great cost both to team members and to organizations as a whole. According to an extensive Microsoft report published this year on the state of the workforce, 54% of professionals feel overworked, and 39% feel exhausted. Although humans are resilient, there’s a tangible and intangible loss when we cannot attend in-person experiences at work and in our personal life. Wen gives voice to what many people are experiencing. “I definitely think our social fabric depends on in-person connection to a great extent. There is something about in-person communication that cannot be simply replaced by Zoom meetings or instant messaging, as our qualitative data suggest.” 

Humans are built for connection 

Humans are social animals. We thrive in connection to other people, and some research indicates that our brains reach the highest levels of functionality when we’re interacting together. Michael Platt, Ph.D., a biological anthropologist from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, explained why  at an annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience: 

“Human beings are wired to connect — and we have the most complex and interesting social behavior out of all animals. This social behavior is a critical part of our adaptive toolkit. It allows us to come together and do things that we wouldn’t be able to do on our own. We’re only just beginning to uncover how these mechanisms may operate in real-world activities, and the findings are really exciting.”

Just as individuals can get into “the flow state” on their own, they can cultivate that same dynamic in teams that are moving toward common goals. When they collaborate together in person, they can riff on each other’s ideas and imagine new possibilities in real time. This elevated rhythm is difficult, if not impossible, to replicate over Slack or Zoom.

Amy C. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, sums it up this way, “Being together matters when tasks are interdependent, require sharing tacit knowledge in fluid ways, and coordination needs are not scripted or predictable.” Spontaneous breakthroughs over coffee, serendipitous meetings on the way into the office and in-between moments in the hallway contribute to the dance that results in creative and innovative work. 

Adapting work across distances

Industries have adapted to connecting across distances, harnessing effort and creativity to connect and collaborate in unprecedented circumstances. People’s jobs were transformed overnight as they figured out how to revamp their workspaces based on in-the-moment recommendations from experts, and how to leverage new technology on the fly. 

Long blocked by regulators, telemedicine has become the norm, requiring that doctors learn how to navigate the complexities of their jobs in an entirely different way. Doctors and nurses became IT specialists, as they transformed previously scheduled in-person appointments into virtual checkups.  

Performers, who have always brought people together in person, found new digital avenues to connect with their audiences and share their talent. Comedians adapted their stand-up performances to digital events and got creative with Livestream adaptations like the ones run by InCrowd Comedy. The comedian Taylor Tomlinson told Vulture that “Nothing replaces live shows,” adding, “but this is the absolute closest thing.”

One Japanese theater adapted in-person events that allow people to watch a performance through mailbox slots, rather than through a screen. Thirty people watch the performance unfold while separated by barriers, each through their own small aperture. 

Restaurants developed new takeout menus, served food up to first responders, revamped their dining rooms and added outdoor options to ensure the safety of their staff and customers. They extended warmth and hospitality at a distance, often within the confines of small spaces and razor-thin budgets. 

Despite the ingenuity the pandemic unlocked in every industry, the need to separate came with significant losses — some tangible and some intangible. J. Graeme Noseworthy, who is responsible for running a large customer event at IBM, had to pivot to a virtual gathering after a year of planning. He says, “It's very tricky to carry over what works in person, when all you have is a monitor in front of your audience member.”

Why the future is phygital

COVID-19 has catalyzed change in the way we work and live in a short period, and it’s challenging to forecast what’s ahead. That said, the nature of work is always evolving, thanks to breakthroughs in technology and changes in local, regional and global technology. Change isn’t necessarily permanent — or is it? 

No matter what the future holds, if we are to unlock our potential as people and professionals, connection and community must remain central in our lives. A hybrid mix of physical and digital experiences, best described as “phygital,” will evolve in a way that enables us to work together. 

In health care, for example, telehealth will continue to increase access and affordability for patients. But medical professionals want brick-and-mortar practices back, too, given the limitations of video calls. Beyond the medical need for in-person visits, trust between a doctor and patient is much harder to foster through a screen.

Other creative adaptations, like outdoor dining in cities and towns, may transform into permanent changes when they add something to contribute to a community. New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio talked to The New York Times about his initiative to open nearly 15 miles of car-free zones allowing for outdoor dining. “Open Restaurants was a big, bold experiment in supporting a vital industry and reimagining our public space — and it worked,”  he said. “As we begin a long-term recovery, we’re proud to extend and expand this effort to keep New York City the most vibrant city in the world. It’s time for a new tradition.”

The event industry may make similar adjustments. Noseworthy is playing with the idea of bringing more work events outside in 2022, given how much people crave both events and the outdoors after a year spent at home. “I'm toying with the idea of a roadshow where we take some modified 18-wheelers, RVs, food trucks, and make a caravan that we set up in university parking lots or State Parks. We could host the events ‘campfire’ style outside, in a safe and welcoming environment,” he says. After a period when people were missing out on the novel activities we enjoy at work — bonding and experiencing new places together — he’s putting those front and center in innovative ways. 

What Mayor de Blasio terms “new traditions” from the pandemic era will stick around when they encourage connection rather than deter it. After long periods of separation, innovation and creativity depend on our ability to collaborate together. As we shape our future, we can continue to acknowledge our strengths as social creatures — and the benefits we gain from playing to those strengths — for people, teams and organizations.