Loneliness in the workplace is a hidden enemy to both businesses and employees, affecting employee mental health and productivity, and ultimately having a negative impact on the organisation as a whole. With more people working from home, there are less opportunities for face-to-face contact with colleagues, leaving some people feeling more isolated and alone.
We’ve brought together some useful information and resources to highlight the importance of addressing loneliness and give some practical tips on tackling loneliness in the workplace.
Download our factsheet for a snapshot on workplace loneliness and simple ideas on how to tackle it.
Loneliness occurs when there is a sense of inadequacy surrounding the relationships we have. People can have others all around them, but a lack of depth and quality to relationships or a feeling that they have no one to connect to, can leave them feeling lonely. Feeling a lack of emotional attachment to anyone at work could leave employees feeling lonely.
When a recruitment firm boss from Canterbury assessed his life, he realised something was missing – friends. You can hear his story about the lack of meaningful relationships at work here.
There are key points in people’s lives when they can feel lonely, many related to employment. These include:
For a candid snapshot of loneliness from a young working man who struggles with feelings of loneliness, this BBC video gives an insight into how loneliness can affect someone’s mental health and day to day life.
Research suggests that loneliness has a negative impact not only on employee mental health and wellbeing, but the productivity and stability of the business as a whole. According to a report released by the Co-op and New Economics Foundation, the annual cost of workplace loneliness for businesses has been estimated at around £2.5 billion in the UK alone.
In his blog, Tips for Fixing Workplace Loneliness, David Turnover provides an interesting case study on the damaging effects of loneliness to individuals and the workplace as a whole, with ideas on how to tackle it.
Vantage Circle looks at the damaging effect loneliness can have on a business financially in their blog, Workplace Loneliness, labelling it as a ‘silent killer’, with some broad ideas to help prevent it.
For employers
For employees