Why Combating Loneliness Could Be Your Secret Weapon for Employee Well-Being

Loneliness can be deadly and isolation can make us feel insignificant. We've all felt the need to connect with another person.

While this feeling is understandable, it’s not something we typically consider when assessing workplace well-being. Yet a recent Gallup study found that one in five employees worldwide experienced significant loneliness in the previous day.

That’s a huge number of people. But why does it matter to organizations? The effects of loneliness can be profound on physical and mental health, productivity, burnout and employee retention.

Research indicates that loneliness is a risk factor similar to smoking or drinking alcohol, and that genes associated with cancer, heart disease and inflammatory diseases are expressed in lonelier people.

Do you know how many of your employees feel isolated? How many are silently struggling with loneliness?

Loneliness and our deep need for connection

Take a moment and think about what loneliness means to you. What situations and feelings are you going through?

I think about not having someone to talk to when I'm struggling or when I want to be authentic and share with another person, only to realize that's not an option.

If you ask 100 people what loneliness means to them, you'll probably get many different answers.

But in general, loneliness can be described as a lack of connection with others. When we feel lonely, there can be different causes and feelings at play, but fundamentally, there is a mismatch between our desired need for relational intimacy and the level of intimacy we get from others.

Loneliness is common

Recently, the GP declared loneliness a public health issue because of its prevalence and health effects.

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report found that 20% of employees worldwide regularly feel lonely. Additionally:

• The percentage is higher for those under 35 and lower for those over 35.
• Remote workers experienced higher levels of loneliness (25%) than on-site employees (16%)
• A recent APA poll found that one in three American adults feel lonely every week, and 10 percent feel lonely every day.

How many people in your workplace are facing this problem right now?

The Deep Links Between Mental Health and Physical Health

We intuitively know that loneliness can make us feel emotionally bad. But chronic loneliness also carries significant physical health risks.

Across different measurement methods, social connections are associated with a 50% reduction in the risk of premature death. In the same study, one result stands out: the impact of loneliness on health is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

What about the impact on mental health? Chronic loneliness and social isolation can:

Research strongly suggests that loneliness has a significant impact on individuals’ physical and mental health. So let’s look at how some of these impacts can manifest in the workplace.

How Loneliness Affects Employees

Loneliness has many negative effects on employees. There are links between loneliness and decreased job performance, as well as stress-related absenteeism attributed to loneliness, which costs employers an estimated $154 billion per year in the United States.

On the other hand, strong social connections at work are linked to employee engagement, creativity, and better job performance. According to a global Gallup survey, engaged employees are also 64% less likely to experience loneliness. Social support at work also acts as a buffer against chronic workplace stress and burnout.

All of this research points to an important fact: the social bond is closely linked to several organizational priorities, including:

• Work performance
• Health expenditure
• Well-being
• Engagement
• Mental Health

Can you think of a time when social isolation played a role in your own life, in the lives of people you know, or within your organization?

How Business Leaders Can Offer Support

It’s important to recognize that the workplace alone won’t cure loneliness. Disconnection is a complex problem that underlies much of the modern world.

However, given that many of us spend a significant portion of our lives with our coworkers, why not take action when possible?

For such a broad topic, I think it is always important to start by recognizing that tackling this problem requires a holistic framework, including organizational and individual approaches.

At a fundamental level, Gallup researchers found that employees felt less loneliness in places where labor laws addressed fair wages, safe work, family responsibilities and maternity leave.

Unsurprisingly, these factors impact loneliness. Let’s continue our thinking about other ways to address this problem.

Workplace culture

Ask yourself if your culture values ​​social connection. Do employees feel humanized, as if their well-being is important?

Social connections can be a strategic priority in the workplace. That sounds great, but how do you actually achieve it?

Learning to connect can be powerful

It is possible to strengthen social bonds and combat loneliness through training and education, particularly for leaders and managers. People may not instinctively understand how to proceed within an organization. That’s okay. It can be learned with everyone’s buy-in.

There’s something really powerful about simply pausing during the workday to check in on someone who seems quieter than usual and then listening intently in a way that shows you care about how they’re feeling. Or following up when someone reveals their struggles, going the extra mile to make sure they get the help they need.

Working in such an environment greatly alleviates the feeling of isolation, knowing that people care enough about you to make the effort to listen and offer help.

Give people the space to connect

Employees who don’t have the time, space and energy to connect with family, friends, colleagues and partners are much more likely to feel isolated and burned out. How can we think about creating space for connection?

• Take the time to educate employees about the effects of social isolation
• Creating physical and digital spaces where people can connect
• Offer mentoring programs to build relationships
• Encourage and reward volunteering, possibly offering employees a time where they can engage with their community and each other.
• Ask! Employees probably have ideas about social connections at work and may have good ideas

Encouraging social connection at work may seem hypocritical if it’s not backed by real care. But as part of a holistic support system, it can work wonders.

Think about your organization. What creative ways of building connections work for your people? You know them better than anyone.

ERG and other peer groups

A very concrete way to create social connections is to offer employee resource groups (ERGs), which give members time and space to meet.

You can create an ERG based solely on community or connection, something people look for in many contexts.

This ERG could partner with other ERGs, allowing people to create relationships based on diverse lived experiences, circumstances, or identities.

Combating loneliness through initiatives to meet basic needs

Another strategy could include social connectivity as part of a mental health-focused EAP.

For example, Spring Health now offers a critical needs assessment as part of its mental health solution.

When a new member goes through the initial mental health assessment, questions are asked about social connections and other basic needs.

If the assessment shows that the person is isolated, they may be connected to approved community resources that address social isolation.

Mental health support

It’s important to note that chronic social isolation can have underlying causes related to mental health issues. People with anxiety or depression may be more likely to isolate themselves in response to this, but as we’ve seen, isolation can also lead to mental health issues.

This is why connecting individuals with a comprehensive mental health solution can be so helpful.

Therapy and/or coaching can help address the underlying causes of social isolation.

There are no easy answers, but there is room for progress.

Combating loneliness has real benefits, such as engagement, burnout prevention, and overall well-being.

Additionally, by addressing loneliness, we also address its impact on mental and physical health, which can lead to reduced healthcare costs. It’s a smart move for both individual well-being and organizational success.

We can create more connected, community-focused workplaces through consistent effort and small steps. After all, don’t we all want to feel like we belong?

Help your employees thrive exploring six strategies to strengthen their connection and reduce loneliness at work, thereby improving their mental and physical health.