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Workplace loneliness: how can HR help?

When we think of loneliness, it’s usually in a social context; however, loneliness is rarely discussed as a workplace problem. HR and leaders need to pay attention because workplace loneliness is a fast-growing epidemic.

18 Oct 2023

Catherine Ngo

Content writer, presenter and podcaster

According to the The Social Connection in Australia 2023 report, loneliness hurts businesses, as it causes employee absenteeism and reduced productivity. Leaders are often unaware that particular work roles, environments, responsibilities, and work-related relocation are often what causes loneliness.

These working conditions often cause social isolation and prevent employees from developing and maintaining strong social connections with colleagues.

Workplace loneliness and its various forms

Workplace loneliness can manifest in several ways, affecting individuals in different ways. Recognising and understanding these forms of workplace loneliness is crucial so that organisations can address them proactively and create a more inclusive and supportive work environment.

Some common forms of workplace loneliness include:

Social isolation: feeling disconnected from colleagues and lacking social interactions within the workplace. This shows up as limited participation in team events, minimal interaction during work hours, and few work-related social conversations.
Professional isolation: feelings of being excluded during the decision-making processes. This shows up through excluding individuals in essential discussions, being overlooked for projects, or feeling undervalued for contributions.
Cultural isolation: feeling alienated due to differences in cultural backgrounds, values, or beliefs within the workplace. For example, experiencing misunderstandings or biases related to cultural differences, feeling like an outsider, or facing challenges in adapting to the workplace culture.
Role isolation: feeling uncertain about one’s role, responsibilities, or expectations within an organisation. It could also stem from employees in FIFO roles or those who have been relocated overseas by their company. It is common among expatriates separated from their social networks to find it difficult to develop new connections because of cultural differences, language barriers, or insufficient social resources.
Remote work isolation: loneliness stemming from working remotely and lacking regular face-to-face interactions with colleagues. This shows as feeling disconnected from the team, struggling with communication gaps, and experiencing difficulty in separating work from personal life.

Remote work has given people the flexibility to work from home, however, it has also worsened social isolation due to fewer opportunities for “water cooler” conversations and face-to-face bonding with colleagues and leaders.

While a lot of businesses are keen to see workers return to offices, hybrid work is here to stay and creates challenges in addressing work-related loneliness as many people continue to work partly from home.

Strategies to minimise loneliness at work

Dr Shea Fan, an RMIT workplace management expert, shares some strategies on how individuals and organisations can overcome loneliness in the workplace.

Strategies for individuals

Dr Fan advises employees to be clear about their desired level of social interaction but also says we need to be proactive in combating our own loneliness.

“Employees can combat loneliness by understanding what kind of social goals they desire and addressing the gaps. For example, you may be happy with a few strong relationships, or you may prefer broad but weak social connections.

“As an employee, you have a responsibility to be proactive and take charge of overcoming your loneliness by developing or expanding your repertoire of personal resources and taking advantage of opportunities offered by organisations.”

Strategies for companies

Dr Fan recommends organisations audit their operations and policies to identify any potential social isolation and provide opportunities for employees to foster connection virtually or face-to-face.

“Organisations can offer a variety of social opportunities within or across organisational units to encourage employee socialisation such as mentoring programs, support programs, social events, coffee breaks, holiday celebrations and team-building activities.

“These investments in alleviating workplace loneliness will result in employees having a stronger sense of belonging to organisations and being more productive.”

Whatever your industry or age, size, and location of your workforce, loneliness impacts everyone. Lonely employees are likely to be less productive and less engaged and may even decide to leave the organisation. HR can support leaders in making this a high-priority business issue and coming up with strategies to proactively battle loneliness.