Look Up, It’s Worth It!

Remember those quick kitchen chats? The casual hallway catch-ups? The “Hey, got a sec?” moments that weren’t about work—but made work better?

Somewhere along the way, we swapped those for Slack messages, endless email threads, and Zoom calls with cameras off. It’s faster. But it’s not the same.

Why Face-to-Face Still Wins (Science Says So)

Even in a digital world, your brain is wired for real human connection.

Trust Grows Faster: A 2022 study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that face-to-face chats build trust and emotional connection far more quickly than texts or video calls. Our brains pick up on tiny things—eye contact, body language, tone—that no screen can fully deliver.

Ideas Flow Better: Harvard Business Review reports that teams working together in person solve problems faster and more creatively than teams that rely on digital-only communication. Collaboration sparks when people can read the room—literally.

It’s Good for Your Mental Health: Regular, real conversation—even the quick, unplanned kind—is linked to lower anxiety and depression, according to The American Journal of Psychiatry. You literally feel better when you connect face-to-face.
(JSPR Study)
(HBR Article)
(AJP Study)

It Doesn’t Have to Be a Big Deal

Face-to-face connection doesn’t mean endless meetings or awkward team-building games (no trust falls required). It can be simple:

✔️ Walk over to a teammate’s desk instead of sending a message.
✔️ Catch up while refilling coffee—those quick kitchen chats matter.
✔️ Turn your camera on for the first 2 minutes of your next virtual meeting.
✔️ Say “good morning” in the hallway—phones down, smiles up.

Little moments. Real connection.

This Week’s Nudge

Pick one conversation this week you’d normally handle with a message—and have it face-to-face (or video-on) instead.

You might smile more. You might laugh. You might remember why working with people is actually the best part of the job.