The authors of Connectable, Ryan Jenkins, CSP, and Steven Van Cohen, MSOD, are founders of LessLonely.com, the world’s #1 resource for addressing workplace loneliness and creating more belonging at work. Collectively they have over 20 years of experience helping organizations like FedEx, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Salesforce, Wells Fargo, State Farm, John Deere, and Delta Air Lines improve their teams. Their work has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, SUCCESS, Inc., and Entrepreneur Magazine. When they are not writing and speaking, you can find them sampling craft beers, attempting to play golf together, and spending quality time with their respective families. Stay connected with them on social media @RyanAndSteven.Highlights:“One of our primary goals is to destigmatize loneliness, and to make it much more accessible because it’s a universal human condition and we all experience it. So it shouldn’t be shameful, it's simply a signal.” [8:10] Ryan explains the stigma of loneliness and how he and his co-author, Steven Van Cohen, want to help.“Let’s bring the book front and center; Connectable, what’s the big idea behind it? It's not just a book about loneliness…is it?” [11:52] Marcel introduces Ryan’s book, ready to dive deep about the meaning of loneliness in the workplace. “Work is the most fertile ground to lessen loneliness because there is routine, and there’s meaningful relationships that can occur, there’s purpose, there’s learning. There’s all these loneliness lifelines that we can all grasp onto.” [12:22] Ryan shares the thinking behind his book why connection is important and how work can make the difference.“This is so real for people that are listening, they understand ‘oh this is happening right now’....let’s start with the why…why are so many workers suffering right now from loneliness?’ [15:00] As Marcel relates the rising loneliness rates to his audience, Ryan explains the big ticket reasons as busyness and social media!“Loneliness was an epidemic pre COVID, and then COVID comes along…BAM...now we’re in crisis, there is an increase in loneliness and isolation. People go remote for the first time, they don’t know how to manage…that work life blend.” [18:30] Acknowledging the escalation of loneliness caused by the pandemic and the increase of remote work, Marcel challenges how to engage isolated workers. “If we experience loneliness our reaction should be to reach out and connect with others but what happens is we turn inward and it just creates this downward spiral where we isolate further.” [26:46] In Connectable, Ryan and his co-author share 10 ways to identify signals of loneliness, here he shares a few ways to see this in your co-workers or friends. “Even as an introvert, you still need to connect as well. It is in your human design to do that.” [32:50] Marcel recognizes that there are some personality types that may be assumed to prefer less connection, but still genuinely benefit from interaction.“Leaders at any level of the organization, one of the best ways is to communicate clearly. Make sure everyone knows what's going on: What we’re doing in the organization, why we’re doing things in the organization. For every leader, they should make sure that people know how they’re fitting into that bigger picture.” [43:30] What can leader’s do to create belonging in the work environment? Ryan shares some closing advice for leaders to foster connection in their organizations. Resources:Less Lonely Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated to All In