Jeffrey Mosher welcomes back Mark Ostach, Digital Wellness Expert and author from Clarkston, Michigan. He works with Fortune 500 companies to reconnect in today's workplace.  He wrote a book called  “If You Really Knew Me, The Secret to Creating a Culture of Connection & Belonging”.

INTRO to topic:
 The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in early May issued a rare advisory declaring an epidemic of loneliness and isolation and laid out a framework for a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection.”

National Digital Wellness and Human Connection Expert  Mark Ostach who works with Fortune 500 companies to reconnect in the hybrid workplace, says vulnerability is the first step toward combating loneliness. As companies struggle with a growing sense of disconnection, Ostach’s programs include an icebreaker exercise that ignites the process of social connection in the workplace.
 
According to the Surgeon General’s advisory, in recent years, one in two U.S. adults reported experiencing loneliness and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems.
 
Question:
Mark, are you surprised by the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory that we are in an epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation?

What does this mean for the workplace?

How does finding ways to foster a culture of social connection will help employees? 

More employees are disengaged not only in the workplace but also on the home front. Why is this a concern? 

The surgeon general’s advisory concludes that making social connections should be a strategic priority in the workplace at all levels. 

With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, Ostach has a packed schedule. He will be speaking with companies such as Nike, Rocket Mortgage, and education associations about fostering social connections. 

Mark, you have a program to help foster social connection in the workplace based on the BELL Method as a way to teach the basics of social connection. Mark, can you talk about this? 

The Surgeon General's advisory made these recommendations for the workplace. Let's review them:
Make social connections a strategic priority in the workplace at all levels (administration, management, and employees).

• Train, resource, and empower leaders and managers to promote connection in the workplace and implement programs that foster connection.
Assess program effectiveness,  identify barriers to success, and facilitate continuous quality improvement.

• Leverage existing leadership and employee training, orientation, and wellness resources to educate the workforce about the importance of social connection for workplace well-being,  health, productivity, performance, retention,  and other markers of success.    
Create practices and a workplace culture that allow people to connect to one another as whole people, not just as skill sets, and that fosters inclusion and belonging.

• Put in place policies that protect workers’ ability to nurture their relationships outside work including respecting boundaries between work and non-work time, supporting caregiving responsibilities, and creating a culture of norms and practices that support these policies.

• Consider the opportunities and challenges posed by flexible work hours and arrangements (including remote, hybrid, and in-person work), which may impact workers’ abilities to connect with others both within and outside of work. Evaluate how these policies can be applied equitably across the workforce.

Michigan Business Beat | Mark Ostach - National Strategy to Advance Social Connection

The US Surgeon General released an advisory earlier this year placing the pervasive problem of loneliness on the same level of public health concern as smoking. For this seventh episode of the Culture and Belonging podcast, Kim Serrano, Director of the Center for Inclusion and Belonging, spoke with us about her agency’s research around belonging, and their findings are thought-provoking! Belonging is a fundamental human need, and it does not have an on/off switch. Instead, belonging is a multifaceted spectrum of experience that varies depending on place and other people. We need a baseline understanding of the state of belonging in our spaces to develop effective interventions to increase belonging. Kim encourages us to recognize that we’re not alone when we feel a lack of belonging, and she emphasizes the fact that we combat loneliness when we prioritize being intentional and present with our loved ones.

Culture and Belonging: Belonging is Attainable and Dynamic

Jazz Impressions is a radio show hosted by Geoffrey Fenton. It airs Sunday evenings in Chicago on WNUR 89.3 FM and streams live worldwide. This episode first aired in August 2025.

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Jazz Impressions is a radio show hosted by Geoffrey Fenton that airs on WNUR 89.3 FM in Chicago and streams live from www.wnur.org.  Jazz Impressions. Where jazz is a reflection of life.

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