New Book Helps Businesses ‘Cure’ Mental Health Through Community Building

Remote work offers employees the flexibility and freedom to work from anywhere in the world. These technological advancements revolutionized modern workplace practices, but even as connectivity grows more prevalent through digital communications tools, the lack of human interaction has led to a growing mental health crisis – attributing to lower levels of happiness, a decreased sense of belonging, poor work culture, and reduced productivity. 

In her new book, Mastering Community: The Surprising Ways Coming Together Moves Us From Surviving to Thriving, Christine Porath, associate professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, provides a guide to help organizations implement the “cure” to the mental health crisis in the workplace: community. 

With her signature depth and grasp of research, Porath extrapolates from the statistics on the experiences of hundreds of thousands of people across six continents to show readers just how important thriving communities are to the well-being and success of organizations. 

Through uplifting stories, case studies, and original research, Porath helps readers develop actionable steps for creating a positive community: uniting people and sharing information, unleashing them with autonomy, creating a respectful environment, practicing radical candor, providing a sense of meaning, and boosting personal well-being. She showcases real-world examples from companies such as Marriott, Motley Fool, KPMG, GoDaddy, Cisco, Deloitte, Cleveland Clinic, and EXOS to show readers the application of this framework in various workplace settings. 

“My research explored the experiences of people from a myriad of industries all over the world, and in each analysis, the themes of these findings remained true: anyone can help a community flourish with the proper tools and strategies,” said Porath. “This book is for anyone – from business leaders, to coaches, to parents in the PTA – seeking tried and true solutions to building a caring and thriving community.”

The book also allows readers to look inward and utilize Porath’s techniques to improve one’s mindset and overall well-being. Porath provides four action steps – self-awareness, physical well-being, recovery, and mindset – to enhance an individual’s inner self, which in turn, reflects their contributions to the broader community.

“Mastering Community is a magnificent book everyone should read, share, and apply,” said Stephen M. R. Covey, The New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Trust & Inspire. “Backed by empirical data, Chris focuses on the critical need to build better communities and connections within our workplaces and society today. We do this by creating gathering places where people feel they belong, matter, and are treated with respect and civility.”

In addition to Mastering Community, Porath is the author of the award-winning book, Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace and co-author of The Cost of Bad Behavior. She has consulted with clients such as Google, United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Genentech, Marriott, National Institute of Health, Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, and National Security Agency. 

Porath has been recognized as a Top 100 Leadership Speaker and a Top MBA Professor, and her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Fortune, Forbes, New YorkTimes, and The Washington Post, among others.

Mastering Community is available for purchase as a hardcover, audiobook, or ebook online at grandcentralpublishing.com or Amazon.