Opener: The Other L Word
Summary
We can’t talk about DesignOps without talking about workplace loneliness. This L word doesn’t just affect those who are working as a team of one. Thousands of designers and DesignOps pros in full teams around the nation are silently suffering from loneliness. This chronic workplace loneliness has a negative impact on individuals, teams, productivity, and company success. Lonely workers are twice as likely to quit their jobs and around 60 percent of Americans report feeling lonely on a regular basis. When people suffer, so does the bottom line. At the average national voluntary turnover rate of 25 percent, a company of 100 people with an average salary of $50,000 will spend between $625,000 and $2.5 million dollars on staff replacement costs in one year. Well-connected teams that have a high amount of belonging and inclusion experience greater productivity, improved decision-making, lower expenses and a more efficient and happy workforce. In this talk, Sr. UX Designer and Connection Coach Kat Vellos will share insights from her book We Should Get Together and highlights why its lessons matter for DesignOps more than ever before.
Key Insights
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Workplace loneliness directly costs the US economy one trillion dollars annually due to voluntary employee turnover.
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Half of Americans regularly experience loneliness, and the workplace is often the primary place they hope to form meaningful connections.
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Design team culture and interaction habits can silently contribute to loneliness by undermining psychological safety and trust.
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Loneliness impacts workers of all demographics equally, disproving the myth that it only affects marginalized or junior people.
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Employees with close friendships at work show 35% higher commitment to quality and 50% lower turnover risk.
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Psychological safety—where people can be authentic without fear—is foundational to reducing loneliness.
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Perfectionism in design culture exacerbates stress and loneliness, especially for designers of color facing unrealistic cultural ideals.
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Ageism is rampant in tech and design, cutting off access to mentorship and role models, making long term career success feel impossible.
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Authentic connection beats forced fun for fostering belonging; mandatory social events often alienate rather than unite.
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Rewarding courage and candor in workplace communication creates safer environments and reduces turnover by allowing honest dialogue.
Notable Quotes
"A trillion dollars is enough to buy a million dollar home for a million people, and last year, voluntary employee turnover cost the US economy one trillion dollars."
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced – James Baldwin."
"Lonely workers think about quitting their job twice as frequently as non-lonely workers."
"One in five people say they deal with feelings of disconnection and loneliness in the workplace."
"There’s nothing more important for safety and group culture than psychological safety."
"Trying to be perfect is exhausting. We don’t have to live this way."
"If a person has a human moment that’s grounds for dismissal, it ends up muting my personality."
"Employees that have a work best friend have a 50% drop in turnover risk and are 300% more likely to say they love their companies."
"Reward courage and candor, not assimilation."
"Personal resiliency is no match for environmental toxicity."
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