During a recent study, neuroscientists found that the longings for social interaction experienced during isolation are neurologically very similar to the food cravings people experience when hungry. Social isolation can even affect your health, with socially isolated individuals experiencing increased levels of anxiety and stress. Whichever way you look at it, human beings are essentially hardwired for social interaction. No matter how much we value a “break from it all” from time to time, we fundamentally need to interact with other human beings.

The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on social interaction, isolating us from our families, friends and colleagues. Now, as we emerge into the new normal, post Covid, many companies are exploring how to balance work from home with return to office policies.

Employees universally value the work-life balance that work from home can provide; but balance is the key word here. There needs to be a balance to prevent employees from becoming isolated from their work teams. Many companies are managing employees’ work from home expectations with the company’s need for cohesion and common purpose by setting out minimum requirements in terms of coming into the office. Why? Because human beings need to connect with each other in order to perform optimally and, time saving as they are, online meetings just don’t provide the same level of human connection that face-to-face engagement does.

At SARCDA, we provide a platform for exhibitors to interact in person with verified trade buyers, and for both exhibitors and buyers to build relationships based on trust and that all important “magic” of human connection – we’ve all heard the old marketing maxim: people prefer to do business with people they know and like!

We’ve also always contended that nothing beats being able to see and touch a product before you buy it. After all, who hasn’t bought something online only to discover that it’s not quite as impressive in real life as it appeared in the photographs?

Technology is certainly an important enabler and an invaluable time saver, but it simply cannot replace the many positive benefits that personal interaction provides. This was reinforced again and again by exhibitors and buyers at SARCDA Africa in March 2022 – throughout the exhibition our team was inundated by stories of how good it felt to be “back in business again”.

We look forward to welcoming exhibitors and buyers to SARCDA Christmas 2022, for the first time in three years. See you at Gallagher Convention Centre from 17 – 19 August 2022.