1 in 6 Australians experience loneliness, with 15% of these individuals experiencing loneliness often or always. Globally, 20% of employees experience daily loneliness. Loneliness Awareness Week (5th – 11th August) provides a crucial opportunity to reflect on the loneliness epidemic and the workplace’s role in supporting employee wellbeing. In this blog, we will explore the impact of loneliness on mental health and productivity and outline three effective strategies to reduce loneliness in the workplace.
Understanding Loneliness
Loneliness is more than just a fleeting feeling of isolation; it is a profound sense of disconnection that can have severe implications for an individual’s mental and physical health. Loneliness does not discriminate based on gender, with 3 in 10 men and women experiencing loneliness. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent changes to the working environment, with an increased number of employees working remotely, has brought the issue of loneliness to the forefront.
The Impact of Loneliness on Employee Wellbeing
Research indicates that loneliness is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. According to SuperFriend’s Indicators of a Thriving Workplace (ITW), loneliness also correlates strongly with poorer mental health outcomes. SuperFriend’s ITW data shows that 1 in 3 workers who feel lonely report worse mental health compared to the previous year, highlighting a significant decline in wellbeing for those experiencing isolation. This statistic is starkly contrasted with only 13% of non-lonely workers reporting similar declines.
The data also show a strong relationship between loneliness and lower productivity. Workers who are lonely are much less likely to rate their work ability highly (scoring 8-10 on a 10-point scale), with only 34% doing so, compared to 60% of non-lonely workers.
How can Workplaces Reduce Employee Loneliness?
Promote Social Connection
SuperFriend’s Connectedness Domain highlights the critical role of social interactions in combating loneliness. Encouraging employees to participate in group activities, sports, or even casual office walks creates opportunities for social engagement.
Regular physical activity not only improves physical health but also provides a natural context for socialising and building relationships. Better Being recognises the role of physical activity in enhancing social connections. Our employee wellbeing programs focus on four pillars of performance, including Movement and the concept of ‘Play’. ‘Play’ can include backyard sports with your children or joining a workplace soccer team. As a form of exercise, ‘Play’ not only boosts physical health but also enhances social bonds, reducing feelings of isolation.
Foster Compassionate Conversations
Compassionate leadership is vital in creating a supportive work environment where employees feel valued and connected. The SuperFriend ITW data reveal that higher levels of management support correlate with lower levels of loneliness among employees. Conversely, a lack of support can exacerbate feelings of isolation.
Educating both leaders and employees on how to have compassionate conversations about mental health is a significant step towards reducing loneliness. When employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health at work, they are less likely to feel isolated. In fact, 27% of those who feel comfortable talking about their mental health at work report to be lonely, which increases to 44% for those who don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health. Better Being’s Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace report highlights the importance of regular check-ins in creating a safe space for these conversations and promoting a culture where vulnerability is seen as a strength, not a weakness.
Optimise the Role of the Office Environment
The design of the workplace itself can influence loneliness. Employees at the highest risk of loneliness are those working in regional areas in a corporate-sized (5,000+) organisation – almost 1 in 2 employees report experiencing loneliness. Age also plays a role, with the generation who experienced the highest level of loneliness being Generation Z, particularly so for those who worked remotely the entire time.
SuperFriend’s Work Design domain emphasises the importance of creating environments that promote social interaction and connection. Open office layouts, communal spaces where incidental conversations can take place, and flexible working arrangements that are not ‘tokenistic’ can help reduce feelings of isolation.
When it comes to employees working remotely, scheduling regular virtual catchups and providing access to online resources such as workshops, enables individuals to feel connected to the broader community and access the relevant information when it comes maximising their mental health and performance.
As well as the Indicators of a Thriving Workplace national survey, SuperFriend also have a holistic benchmarking tool for workplaces to measure their level of thriving. Find out more here.
Access SuperFriend’s Research Library here to read their recent report “Thriving in the hybrid world of work” developed in partnership with the Serenity Collective, all about how hybrid work has impacted mental health including the experience of isolation, and what workplaces can do about it.
