Even as a child, I remember being horrified at the phrase, “killing two birds with one stone.” The otherwise gentle people in my life took on sinister personas when discussing matters of efficiency. So, imagine my delight when shortly after entering the workforce, a British colleague introduced the kinder and gentler alternative, “feeding two birds with one scone.”

In today’s pressure-filled, fast-paced workplace, we tend to relish our “scones” — the singular actions that deliver multiple benefits. And for those in learning and development, a particularly tasty and useful one is connection — because connection feeds some of the most important and hungry birds in business, including learning, mental health and the clock.

Connection Feeds Learning

It’s not news that humans learn an extraordinary amount of what they need to know when they connect with others. Social learning has long been recognized as a powerful alternative and complement to the traditional classroom. Formalized vehicles like rotations, job shadowing, coaching and mentoring all leverage connection for targeted personal and professional development.

It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic introduced remote work on a broad scale that we fully understood the power of osmosis at the office. That’s why many hybrid and remote organizations are placing greater emphasis on the human side of onboarding, elevating the quality of one-on-one conversations, creating communications channels related to non-work topics, establishing buddy systems and encouraging digitally supported co-working. These strategies offer the structure necessary to create what occurs organically when colocated.

Connection Feeds Well-Being

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was experiencing a devastating epidemic — one of loneliness.

Social disconnection has physiological implications, affecting such things as blood pressure, immunity and inflammation. It even represents as great a health risk as obesity, physical inactivity and smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day.

The flip side of this, however, paints a more hopeful picture. Employees with a sense of connection are likely to enjoy greater motivation, engagement and productivity. (They’re also inclined to stick around longer.) Research suggests that social connection elevates resilience, reduces stress, and in turn burnout, one of today’s most pressing workplace concerns. All of which makes connection an effective and cost-effective tool for organizations looking to improve well-being.

Connection Feeds the Clock

Escalating expectations continually bump up against lack of staffing, spreading employees in many sectors exceedingly thin. No wonder we hear “busy,” “lack of bandwidth,” and “over-extended” so frequently.

As counterintuitive as it seems, connection might be the answer here, too. Research suggests that “spending time on others increases one’s feeling of time affluence.” When compared with other ways to spend time, connecting with others left those in this study with the subjective impression of more time. Does time seem to go by more quickly when immersed in conversation? Do we feel uplifted and energized after engaging with others? Does social support from colleagues leave us feeling more capable?

Whatever the mechanism, there seems to be an argument even for the most time-starved among us to engage in dialogue, offer to coach or mentor others or agree to attend that problem-solving meeting. Because connection feeds the clock by creating the impression of more hours in the day.

If you want to drive learning, well-being and a greater sense of time affluence, consider the scone of connection — a strategy that will nourish employees, the organization and yourself.