Like any garden, our workplaces require mindful cultivation to help them thrive. Research shows that engaged employees are more productive, healthier, and less likely to leave for other jobs. Learn about theories of social capital and explore concrete ideas to help grow and maintain a connected and committed workplace.

1. Cultivating your
Organizational
Garden:
Social Capital in the Workplace

2. About Hope College
Small, private liberal arts college located in Holland,
MI; population 33,000
Students: 3,119 FTE (all undergraduate)
Most popular majors
Biology | Psychology | Education | Nursing
Non-Academic Claim to fame: a 96-year old
basketball rivalry between Hope and Calvin College.
About Van Wylen Library
11 librarians (4 hired in last 12 months)
11 staff members (1 hired last 12 months)
About Me
Jenifer Holman
Electronic Resources Librarian
Librarian for 24 years @ 3 different
institutions
Share your ideas: #connectAtWork #erl17

3. Agenda
• Social Capital: What it is and why it matters
• Techniques for creating/maintaining a healthy organization

4. “…social capital refers to connections
among individuals - social networks and
the norms of reciprocity and
trustworthiness that arise from them”
Putnam, p. 19

7. "The most successful people, … Instead of
turning inward, … actually hold tighter to
their social support. Instead of divesting,
they invest. Not only are these people
happier, but they are more productive,
engaged, energetic, and resilient."
Achor, p.175

8. ”
“…often, people wait for the other
person to make the first move, but I
think this is wrong. One person can
change the atmosphere of a workplace
environment."
Lama & Cutler, p.39

10. ”
“Conversation and story are the voice of
social capital. They communicate values,
behaviors, understandings, and aims - all
the shared cultural messages that define
groups and turn individuals into
members of groups.”
-- Cohen-Prusak, p.104

11. Sharing Stories

12. Building &
Maintaining
Trust

13. ”
Connection is why we are here
-- Brené Brown
Brown, B. (2011, January). The power of vulnerability [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

14. Image: https://www.pinterest.com/songsoon10/home-garden/

15. Questions? How do you tend your organization garden?
Thank you!

16. Bibliography & Further Reading
Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: the seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance
at work. New York: Crown Business.
Behind ugly locker-room talk, divisions of class and race. (2017, February 19). Chronicle of higher education.
Retrieved February 23, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/article/Behind-Ugly-
Locker-Room-Talk/239238
Brown, B. (2011, January). The power of vulnerability [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o
Cohen, D., & Prusak, L. (2001). In good company. Harvard Business School Press.

17. Lama, D., & Cutler, H. C. (2004). The Art of Happiness at Work. New York: Riverhead Books.
Porath, C., & Pearson, C. (2013, Jan). The price of incivility. Harvard Business Review, 91, 114- 121. Retrieved
March 15, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-price-of-incivility
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Noe, R. A. (2017). Does fun promote learning? The relationship
between fun in the workplace and informal learning. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 46–55.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.006
Bibliography & Further Reading (cont.)
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