For those of us who think the idea of making meaningful connections and strengthening our involvement in forming a sense of positive community sounds great but lack the understanding of where to begin to engage in such endeavors, I thought I’d share what we’re doing as a team at Theravada amongst our staff.
While the notion of making friends at work isn’t mandatory or even realistic in some situations, wouldn’t it be nice if we could? After all, if we’re working at least full time, we spend the majority of our time, with few exceptions, with our ‘work family’ – why not start there to begin to form some meaningful connections? This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to meet our bestie at work or travel the world to exotic destinations with them anytime in the future, but what if we established a connection with those at work with whom we share interests or values (we’re working at the same place, right, so maybe that’s an indication of at least one shared interest or value)?
At Theravada, our staff primarily consists of therapists. This means we’re kept behind closed doors with our clients from the beginning to end of our days with a few, brief exceptions in between, like when we pass each other on our way to use the bathroom or have a snack in the kitchen and quickly chat about the weather. As therapists, however, we understand and deeply respect the need to have meaningful relationships and how securing those with as many people as possible fulfills a couple of those levels outlined in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, love/belonging and esteem, which only aids in launching us into the tippy top of that pyramid, self-actualization, which aids us in becoming the best version of ourselves and living our best lives.
In the spirit of shaping meaningful connections and making a more cohesive and supportive environment at Theravada, we have monthly staff events where we can all meet and connect on a variety of different levels through conversation, laughter, and comradery. This month we got together at an excellent local Greek restaurant, Elia Authentic Greek Taverna, for some downtime, great food, and engaging conversation which helps us feel a sense of connection to those in our work environment and the community at large.
During these times, we can take our ‘therapy’ hats off for a bit and remind ourselves that while our roles as therapists are often very serious, it’s ok to be human and silly, which can be especially gratifying when we’re in the company of others who share our role and have a deeper understanding – a general rule that can likely apply to most any industry.
No doubt that without the connection we attain from these events we could continue to function in our roles, but when we feel understood by others as well as understand one another’s struggles (reminding ourselves that everyone is human and experiencing their own struggles even if they appear otherwise), it helps to lift some barriers to forming meaningful connections and a sense of community which typically present and often cause feelings of ambivalence, apathy, and disdain for those in our work environments. This is our model for upholding the importance of shaping and maintaining meaningful connections and a positive sense of community that we stress to our clients as well as our audience.
What does or will your model look like? It takes just one person to suggest and organize this sort of activity or tradition if you really want to make it routine; the problem is often just that – who’s going to throw their hat in the ring to get it started? Once someone decides to be the catalyst for this to occur, the sense of enthusiasm and need for connection within the work environment will only grow, thereby helping everyone involved take another bump up Maslow’s ladder and ultimately attain more peace and fulfillment.