A feeling of being part of a community that cares about your well-being
Many people move through their working lives surrounded by others and yet feel profoundly disconnected. They participate in meetings, contribute to projects, achieve ambitious goals, and remain continuously connected through technology. Despite all of these connections, what is often lacking is the feeling that they are truly part of a community that genuinely knows them, values them, and cares about their wellbeing.
capacity to form trusting relation- ships. We participated in commun- ities where people cared for one another. Our brains, our nervous systems, and our emotional lives evolved within networks of connection. The need to belong is not a luxury It is part of what makes us human This reality has not changed just because work has become more sophisticated. Beneath every organizational chart lies a living network of relationships. It is here where trust is built, knowledge is shared, support is offered, and new possibilities emerge. Through these connections people develop confi- dence in one another, exchange ideas and solve problems. This living network is the source of courage to act in situations in which no rulebook can provide an answer.
This circumstance may help explain why so many people feel so exhausted.
The volume of work itself is not always the source of exhaustion. Often it is the emotional weight of navigating systems in which relationships have become increasingly transactional. Relation- ships where a deeper human need for connection remains largely unmet. Human beings are, by our very nature, relational Long before organizations, institutions, and markets were built, our survival depended upon the
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