Connection is a strategy, not a sentiment
In a post-pandemic world defined by speed, digital overload, and constant disruption, a quiet crisis is threatening the foundation of our workforce: loneliness. Once dismissed as a personal issue, social disconnection is now a public health emergency and an escalating business risk. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s 2023 advisory equated the health risks of loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. But beyond its devastating impact on health, disconnection is eroding culture, driving attrition, and stalling performance. For boards and executive teams, the question is not whether to act, but whether they can afford not to.
The data is alarming. Social isolation increases the risk of heart disease by 29%, stroke by 32%, and dementia by 50%. In the workplace, loneliness fuels disengagement, absenteeism, and burnout—costing employers an estimated $154 billion every year. And that number is only rising. At CHC’s recent “Fostering Connection as Medicine” Innovation Roundtable, we hosted C-suite leaders and board directors from some of the world’s most influential companies to ask a critical question: What if connection was treated not as a perk—but as a board-level strategy essential to performance, culture, and risk mitigation?
The answer is clear: When people are connected, businesses are stronger, more resilient, and more competitive.
Supported companies perform better
Employees who feel seen, supported, and part of a community are more engaged, more productive, and more loyal. Connection is not fluff; it’s fuel. It enables collaboration, accelerates innovation, and anchors organizational resilience. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that workplace loneliness significantly undermines engagement and job satisfaction. A Wharton study showed that disconnected employees receive lower performance ratings and are less emotionally committed to their work. The American Psychological Association reports that 95% of employees who feel psychologically safe also feel a strong sense of belonging which is a critical driver of retention and morale.
Belonging is a leading indicator of business performance. And yet, too many workplaces are still designed for efficiency over empathy, for output over humanity. This is not accidental, it’s structural. And the solution must be structural too. The cost of inaction is not just cultural, it’s financial. Disconnected workplaces lose talent, suffer reputational damage, and struggle to adapt. For boards and leadership teams, the imperative is clear that we must build cultures of connection, or risk falling behind.
4 things you can do
Here’s how companies can act:
1. Design for intentional connection. Belonging is built in daily moments like spontaneous chats, shared lunch breaks, team rituals, and peer recognition, just to name a few. Especially in hybrid or remote environments, these micro-interactions must be planned and protected.
2. Embed psychological safety at all levels. Leaders who listen, affirm, and empower create trust. Trauma-informed leadership, inclusive decision making, and transparent communication are now baseline expectations, not luxuries.
3. Hardwire connection into organizational systems. From onboarding and benefits to space design and scheduling, every policy signals what the organization truly values. Is your system designed to support family caregivers (there are 63 million of them)? Neurodiverse talent? Cross-functional collaboration? If not, you’re leaving potential on the table.
4. Measure what matters. Belonging must be tracked like any critical KPI. Use pulse surveys, connection metrics, retention data, and feedback loops to continuously evaluate, adapt, and improve. What gets measured, gets managed—and what gets ignored, gets lost. To what extent are you asking your employees if they feel seen, heard, and that they truly belong? What systems are in place to capture that data—and act on it? Board leaders must demand the same rigor around human-centered metrics as they do around financial ones.
This is more than a wellness issue. It’s about strategic leadership in a new era of work. In a time when isolation is rising and trust is declining, the organizations that lead with empathy and design for belonging will be the ones that thrive financially, reputationally, and culturally. When people feel like they belong, they don’t just fill roles, they fuel missions. They show up fully. They drive innovation, loyalty, and impact.
Human connection is the glue that holds society together. Let it also be the strategy that secures our companies’ futures. For board directors, CEOs, and executive leaders, the call to action is urgent and clear: Build belonging. Lead with intention. Measure what matters. Because the cost of disconnection is no longer invisible and the ROI of connection has never been greater.
Jean Accius is president and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. Alexander Cole is a pre-med student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and scholar-in-residence at CHC.
