Addressing Loneliness in the Workplace

In the UK, 36% of people feel lonelier now than before the pandemic. A 2023 survey revealed that 85% of UK adults experienced loneliness in the last 12 months. 1 in 5 employees worldwide currently feels lonely at work, with half of CEOs also reporting feeling lonely. 

In 2023 the World Health Organization declared loneliness to be a pressing global issue. In response, WHO launched an international commission on the problem, led by the US Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murthy, who said loneliness is an underappreciated public health threat. 

From the occupational health perspective, lonely employees fall sick more frequently, are less resilient, and report higher rates of stress and burnout. 

It’s worth noting that although workplace loneliness can erode work productivity, some research suggests that solitude and job autonomy transform the negative impact of workplace loneliness into a catalyst for enhancing business performance. 

How can leaders tackle loneliness within the workplace? 

Harvard Business Review recently outlined surprisingly simple and intuitive solutions which are the most effective for alleviating loneliness in the workplace including free communal lunches, meetings devoted to personal conversations, and social events. These act as containers for human connection and relatedness to form. Although they sometimes might feel engineered, the benefits outweigh the potential cynicism. 

Addressing isolation in front line, high risk, shift environments should be different to office workers. For example, on vast capital projects and operations, focus can be on simple practical measures like ensuring the same people are on the same shift pattern to facilitate personal connection. Good Wi-Fi should be consistently available and darts boards, for instance, can be provided in canteens to foster social interaction and camaraderie.  

No matter the sector or type of work, line managers should role model inclusive behaviour: listen, find common ground to nurture connection with staff, and build people up with encouragement. Genuine care and curiosity seem so obvious but make a huge difference on the receiving end in feeling connected. 

What advice would you give to leaders, in terms of their own potential risk of loneliness? 

Social connection is paramount, it is a basic human need, as well as your psychological and physical wellbeing. Connect with peers, your Board, and maintain community connections outside of work. 

This is one scenario I came across recently concerning a senior executive at risk of feeling excluded, lonely, and failing. It is not uncommon, albeit in different guises across all sectors. 

In a multi-divisional organisation, a well-regarded division head left unexpectedly. Sponsored by the CEO, a new leader was parachuted in, partly as a developmental assignment. The management team didn’t know why she had been appointed, especially as two team members aspired for the role. The management team closed ranks. Efforts from the new leader to connect felt uncomfortable and were unsuccessful. The new leader felt isolated and excluded. The assignment required a relocation, so family support was distant and there were fractures in her work/life balance. This risked a vicious cycle and a breakdown of the management team. The new leader felt her self-confidence start to fracture. Other staff noticed this, and her sense of isolation increased. 

The HR manager intervened, arranged a set of well-structured one-to-one meetings, and as a team. The CEO was included to explain his decision and apologised for the lack of up-front explanation. One of the leadership team moved on and the others accepted the decision. Understanding and teamwork grew, and the situation was rescued. The new leader felt included and connected, and her sense of loneliness faded.  

To avoid this sort of scenario, conversations between the CEO and leadership team should have happened together, in advance, explaining the assignment decision. A set of early discussions and feedback sessions facilitated by the HR manager or a company specialist would have quickly developed a common purpose for the team. An honest discussion with the new leader’s family around the challenges while away from home would have been helpful and ensured time for regular video calls with family and friends. Diarising free time for sport and hobbies was also a learning.

Thank you for sharing that tricky scenario which I can fully appreciate won’t be uncommon. 

How does all of this apply to transient workforces, considering employees are chopping and changing companies more frequently these days? 

There is an increasing need for groups that transcend the workplace, especially at the more senior levels considering most efforts are put into building cohesion at the early career and middle manager levels. A simple formula for any such group is: