A simple, powerful work-related anti-loneliness factor that we can all leverage.
Key points
- A significant number of employees in today’s workplaces report feeling lonely or disconnected.
- Younger age and remote work are both associated with more feelings of loneliness at work.
- When engagement at work increases, loneliness—and burnout—decrease.
As a doctor obsessed with whole human well-being for more than two decades, I was touched and encouraged to witness another physician, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, sounding the alarm on “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.”
I watched him tour the country and listened to his interviews in which he shared his own deeply vulnerable stories.
We’re lonely everywhere these days. Even at work, which for some isolated individuals is the only consistent contact that they have with others.
Loneliness at Work: The Numbers
A 2022 study of over 3,000 American workers by coaching platform BetterUp found that 69 percent of employees were not satisfied with the opportunities for connection in their workplace. This is a very discouraging statistic.
On the flip side, I’m always thrilled to come across novel, hopeful data.
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 Report, one in five employees worldwide reported experiencing significant loneliness at work. Yet despite this result, their deeper analysis revealed a surprising kernel of potential for change.
Work-Related Factors Associated With Loneliness
Before getting to that, I’ll share some other facts from this study:
1. Younger employees (under 35) are more lonely.
This isn’t really surprising. The younger one is, the more one relies on technology for connection versus good old-fashioned in-person community. Also, from other research I’ve read, younger, less experienced employees are more at risk for burnout (this ties to the nugget of hope, more on that in a moment).
2. There were no gender differences in loneliness.
The same percentages of working men and women reported being lonely. I found this surprising, as I think of women being more socially oriented and connected. Perhaps that’s not the case at work.
3. Job levels had no association with loneliness.
It may not actually be “lonelier at the top.” We’re all in the same boat with this one.
4. Fully remote employees reported the highest levels of loneliness.
Remote workers had a 25 percent rate of reported loneliness, compared to 21 percent of hybrid workers. On-site workers were dramatically less lonely, at only 16 percent.
I’m a reclusive introvert who identifies with remote workers who balk at being forced to come in to work. But perhaps those of us who think we’re much better off working from home should reconsider our stance.
Loneliness, after all, is a significant physical and mental health risk and increases the probability of early death. A commute, on the other hand, might not actually kill us.
And now, here are the findings that made my day.
The Connection Between Loneliness and Engagement
First, work itself decreases loneliness. Working adults were found to be significantly less lonely (20 percent) than unemployed people (32 percent). This was true across all ages.
And this positive effect gets much stronger as employee engagement rises.
Indeed, the Gallup report cites another study where engaged employees were a whopping 64 percent less likely to be lonely than those who were not engaged.
Overall engagement was found to have the strongest impact on loneliness, out of 12 individual aspects of engagement studied by Gallup. It mattered more than someone feeling that their opinion counted, and substantially more than whether someone had a “best friend” at work (this was the least impactful of the 12 factors).
This is so hopeful. Leaders can actively and intentionally leverage and maximize this wonderful potential. When people are more engaged in their work, everyone wins.
Information from Workleap, a company that creates employee-experience software, summarizes this phenomenon, reporting that engaged employees manage work-related stress better, have reduced risk for burnout, and are more likely to seek support from managers and peers.
In fact, when teaching about burnout, I frequently state that burnout and engagement are on two ends of the same spectrum. The more engaged people are, the less their risk for burnout. And, apparently, the less likely they are to be lonely.
In summary, as stated by Gallup: “If leaders want to address their employees’ loneliness, the best option may be to pursue employee engagement holistically.”
Indeed. Let’s build great workplaces where people feel authentically connected, to their work and to those around them.
© 2024 Dr. Susan Biali Haas, MD