Enhancing Workplace Empathy
Leveraging the Power of Dreams to Build Trust and Foster Team Cohesion
Employee loneliness is on the rise
In today’s fast-paced work environment, isolation can creep in even when surrounded by colleagues. One in five employees regularly feels lonely. Younger workers seem most at risk. But no one is immune. This challenge is seen across all demographic and seniorities. It's negative impact on engagement, well-being, and productivity is well established.
Research from BetterUp shows that in 2019 79% of workers knew their colleagues on a personal level. In 2024 that figure is at just 68%. The current spike of employee loneliness has been attributed, by some, to the shift towards remote work.
Remote work is not the main culprit
However, a return to the office is unlikely to move the needle. Academics at King’s College London conducted one of the most through meta-analyses on this topic in late 2023. They reported that there was very little link between employee loneliness and remote work.
The remedy for employee loneliness is not more time with colleagues, but rather more connection with colleagues. While most leaders are adept at engaging in meaningful dialogue with their employees, they must now focus on enabling employees to have meaningful conversations with each other.
Dream sharing is a time-tested highway to connection
Amidst the struggle to connect deeply but within the boundaries of a professional setting, dream-sharing emerges as a useful tool for enhancing social cohesion. Dream-sharing is an ancient practice that has the potential to bridge emotional gaps in modern workplaces.
Evolutionary scientists believe that that dream-sharing has been a crucial part of human interaction for over 40,000 years. Our ancestors told one another about their dreams to build social bonds and foster a sense of community. It helped shift societies from isolated individuals to collaborative groups.
“All human being are also dream being. Dreaming ties all mankind together”- Jack Kerouac
As late as the 1970s, a hunter-gather community in the jungle of Malaysia were still living in this way. The Senoi tribe were said to share their dreams over communal breakfast each morning. And, thanks to this habit, enjoyed sound mental health and a non-violent society. Even today, dream sharing is being used to promote peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Strong scientific evidence proves immediate benefits
Psychological experiments demonstrate that the benefits of dream-sharing are immediate. We’re rarely alone in our dreams, they’re more social than our waking lives. By telling one another about our dreams, we carry forward this sociality into the following day. As soon as you tell someone your dream you will feel closer to them. And they will feel closer to you. Trust and intimacy increase, especially if you already know one another.
“There is a socially unmet need to come together in a safe environment to explore through dreams deeper aspects of their being, to make discoveries that help them to unload secrets that interfere with their connectedness with other people. I think everyone needs that.” — Montague Ullman
To combat the rising tide of employee loneliness and its detrimental effects on engagement and productivity, it's time to take action. Rather than relying on outdated methods, organizations must embrace innovative strategies like dream-sharing to foster genuine connections among colleagues.
By integrating this powerful, time-tested practice into your workplace, you can create a more cohesive, trusting, and resilient team. Start today by exploring how dream-sharing can be tailored to your corporate environment—visit the Institute for Organizational Dreaming to learn more and begin transforming your workplace culture.