This year Mental Health Awareness Week is the 12th to 18th May 2025 and the theme is ‘There is Power in the Community’. This offers a timely reminder of the importance of connection, especially in our workplaces.
With the online world dominating both our work and social lives, the workplace is one of the few areas of real human connection for many people. It is the last community.
The workplace has the potential to be more than just an opportunity to earn money. It can be a place where people feel supported, valued, and emotionally safe. And when companies intentionally build community, the impact on mental health, employee engagement, and team performance is profound.
Why Community at Work Isn’t Just ‘Nice’—It’s Necessary
A growing body of research shows that a sense of connection at work directly affects wellbeing, performance, and retention. Here are three compelling reasons to invest in workplace community:
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Connection Drives Engagement
A 2023 Gallup study found that employees who feel strongly connected to their team are 3.2 times more likely to be engaged at work. Engaged employees are more productive, loyal, and committed to the company’s mission. They’re also far less likely to experience burnout or absenteeism.
“When people feel like they belong to a team that cares, they bring more of themselves to their work — and it shows,” says Gallup’s Global Workplace Analytics Lead.
This study is also support by the work of Garton and Mankins. According to research by Garton & Mankins, an engaged employee is 45% more productive than a merely satisfied worker. What is more interesting is that an inspired employee (one who has a profound personal connection to their work and/or their company) is 55% more productive than an engaged employee. (Read more about this study in our employee engagement blog)
This is more than twice as productive as a satisfied worker. The better an organisation is at engaging and inspiring its employees, the better its performance. Garton and Mankins also talk about inspired employees having a personal connection to the workplace or their work in general. In the right work climate, this extra link can give rise to analytical thinking, innovation or creativity, originality and initiative, all of which are listed by the World Economic Forum as top skills for 2025.
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Loneliness Is a Silent Threat
Harvard Business Review reports that loneliness at work can be as detrimental to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Chronic loneliness is linked to higher rates of stress, anxiety, and cardiovascular problems. But when employees feel part of a supportive community, these risks drop significantly.
A connected workplace becomes a buffer against stress, offering emotional validation, shared problem-solving, and a sense of collective resilience.
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Belonging Protects Mental Health
According to the Mental Health Foundation, a strong sense of belonging and connection at work is a protective factor against mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, and burnout. When people feel safe to be themselves, ask for help, and share ideas, their mental wellbeing flourishes.
In fact, people with strong workplace relationships are more likely to seek support early — reducing the severity and duration of mental health issues.
3 Powerful Ways to Build Workplace Community
Now that we know how impactful community can be, how do we build it in practical terms? Here are three proven, people-centred strategies.
- Create Purpose-Driven Employee Groups
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mental health champions, hobby clubs and affinity networks empower employees to connect around shared values or identities. These groups foster peer support, inclusion, and dialogue.
✅ Tip: Provide these groups with leadership support, visibility, and resources. When employees feel ownership over community-building, it becomes authentic and lasting.
- Introduce ‘Connection Rituals’
Move beyond transactional meetings and make space for genuine moments of connection:
- Weekly ‘wins & gratitude’ check-ins
- Coffee roulette (random pair-ups for short chats)
- ‘Show & tell’ lunch breaks to share hobbies or culture
These small rituals humanise the workplace and promote cross-functional bonding.
✅ Tip: Start meetings with a check-in question or a one-word mood round. It builds empathy fast. We call them a W.I.F.L.E – ‘What I Feel Like Expressing’.
- Celebrate the Human Behind the Role
Recognition creates a ripple effect of positivity. Celebrate milestones, project wins, birthdays, work anniversaries — anything that helps people feel seen and appreciated.
Peer-to-peer recognition is especially powerful because it builds trust and shared purpose.
✅ Tip: Use tools like a ‘kudos wall’, team shoutouts, or digital badges to make recognition regular and fun.
Stronger Together: The Mental Health Case for Community
This Mental Health Awareness Week, let’s lean into the theme: There is Power in the Community. Workplaces are where many of us spend most of our waking hours and they can and should be spaces where we feel connected, supported, and empowered.
By fostering community, we’re not just improving culture — we’re protecting minds, lifting morale, and unlocking our collective potential.
If you would like some ideas on how to build community in your workplace, book on to our FREE webinar, Building Community In The Workplace on 8th May 12pm. We also have a session at 1pm on Journaling and Self Coaching Beginners. Book your place here.
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