Why You Can’t Neglect Social Wellness in the Workplace

Having a healthy, high-performing workforce goes far beyond physical wellness.

So while it’s important to empower your employees to get good sleep and make time for exercise, you can’t ignore social wellness in the workplace.

Social wellness isn’t just about hosting happy hours or getting along with colleagues. It’s about fostering a culture of belonging, shared purpose, and psychological safety.

What Is Social Wellness?

Humans are pack animals. As such, we have a deep fundamental need for belonging — at work and otherwise.

Social wellness is the ability to form healthy relationships with a sense of connection and belonging.

In a work context, it’s the degree to which employees feel connected, valued, and supported: by their teams, their leaders, and the organization as a whole.

It’s easy to write off the importance of social wellness. Sure, it sounds nice, but that’s secondary to actually getting the work done, right?

But work gets done by teams. And teams are made of connected humans. 

We’ve all dealt with that one boss or teammate who makes work feel like an absolute slog: at best, jamming up processes, and at worst, being outright toxic.

On the flip side, you’ve hopefully had the experience of working in a team that not only cares about you as a person, but actively empowers you to do your job well. Teammates speak openly, reflect honestly, and lift each other up.

Which environment would your team perform better under?

In short, social wellness isn’t a nice-to-have HR perk. Strong team dynamics are the foundation to everything your organization wants to achieve.

The Business Impact of Social Wellness

Humans are hardwired for connection.

From infancy, our brains develop through attachment, and that need persists throughout our lives — including at work. The quality of our relationships shapes everything from how we process feedback to how we handle pressure and change.

But in a post-pandemic world, many organizations are still navigating the balance between flexibility and connection.

While rising rates of remote work have enabled productivity and autonomy, it’s also increased isolation and fragmented team dynamics.

Research has proven that organizations with strong social bonds…

• Enjoy higher productivity and profitability
• Experience stronger engagement and well-being
• See greater retention and less burnout

• Are 61% more likely to exceed their business goals.
• Are five times as likely to meet their retention goals.

When employees feel like they belong:

• They exhibit a 56% increase in job performance.
• They take 75% fewer sick days than employees who feel excluded.
• They have a 50% lower turnover rate than employees who feel excluded.

How to Promote Wellness in the Workplace Through Social Connection

So how can leaders and organizations bring this concept to life? Here’s a roadmap, adapted from Exos’ Thriving Together Ebook.

Build a Foundation of Psychological Safety

Teams tend to progress through four stages of psychological safety: 

1. Inclusion safety - "I can be me with these people."
2. Engagement safety - "I can be vulnerable and ask questions."
3. Contribution safety - "I can offer my opinion." 
4. Challenger Safety - "I can challenge the status quo."

Many teams stop at "inclusion.” Don’t fall into this trap. Inclusion is just stage 1 of psychological safety, whereas truly thriving teams are able to reach stages 3 and 4.

If people don’t feel safe being themselves, they won’t contribute powerfully. Psychological safety means people can speak up, offer ideas, and take risks without fear of embarrassment or retaliation.

Here’s how you can create psychological safety as a leader:

• Model vulnerability: Share mistakes. Ask for feedback. Admit when you don’t have the answer.
• Create space for voices: In meetings, ask quieter team members for input.
• Encourage dissent: Celebrate when someone offers a different perspective. This shows courage and thoughtfulness.

Support Connection Within Teams

Teams thrive when people know and care about each other. This doesn't require in-depth personal friendships, but rather a shared sense of accountability and familiarity.

You can foster this through:

• Buddy systems or peer mentorships
• Regular check-ins where discussions go beyond work tasks
• Building spaces for connection, like fitness centers or virtual coffee chats

Create Connective Rituals

The strongest communities are built on shared rituals, language, and moments. These help people feel “in the know” and part of something bigger.

At Exos, the senior-most leader cleaning up after a shared meal became a symbolic ritual of humility. 

What rituals could you build to express your company’s values?

Consider these rituals:

• Celebrating wins at the start of meetings
• Using symbolic language or inside jokes that signal identity and culture
• Creating shared team experiences, like a “Monday Mood Check” or Friday shoutouts

Your Next Steps: Start Small, Start Now

You don’t need to overhaul your organization overnight to start seeing benefits. Small changes add up.

At the end of the day, social wellness is about treating your team members as whole humans first, and task-doers second.

Here's where to begin:

• Audit your team dynamics: Do people feel safe? Heard? Seen?
• Create one new ritual: A shoutout thread, a new meeting format, or a wellness moment.
• Have a real conversation: Ask someone how they’re doing, and listen deeply to the answer.

Final Thoughts

When employees thrive socially, they show up differently.

They perform better. They collaborate more freely. They recover from setbacks more quickly.

All in all, socially well teams are simply better teams.

Want to build social wellness directly into your spaces? Talk to us about how we can help.