I have experienced commuting an hour in each direction to the office only to sit at a desk without interacting with anyone other than a quick hello in the restroom and kitchen.
Back-to-work initiatives promised to recapture the rich collaborative opportunities of the in-person workplace. Unfortunately, there are likely many employees who wonder why their company felt it was so important for them to trek into the office. They’re doing the same work they could do sitting at a desk or their dining room table at home.
A recent Fast Company article by Amy Gilliland noted a study showing that loneliness wasn’t fixed by the pandemic’s end and a return to in-person work.
“According to a new Gallup mental health study, one in five workers experiences feelings of loneliness, and a recent Cigna poll found that the number of U.S. adults who call themselves lonely has climbed to 58 percent from 46 percent in 2018,” Gilliland writes.
Alone in a Crowd
I’ve heard it said that it’s possible to be in a crowd of people and feel alone. It may be that you feel alone in your perspective or alone in a challenge you are experiencing.
In an office, it could be that you’re on your own work journey. That solitary journey could be the result of having no other in-person collaborators to chat or consult with. You could be a staff of one feverishly trying to get your work done. Meanwhile, you are surrounded by multi-person work teams. It can feel alienating being on a path by yourself while all around you employees collaborate and interact with each another.
Bringing Work Teams of One Together
With tight workplace budgets, not everyone can have a junior employee, and work projects frequently must be solitary affairs. But what if you brought all employees on solitary journeys together once a month for lunch or dinner at the company’s expense? It would be a way to thank these isolated individuals. Doing it all on your own can be difficult and lonely. Getting recognition and time with others experiencing the same situation could lessen feelings of loneliness.
Time With Others in Parallel Roles
You also can look beyond those on a literal solitary journey. The next step to alleviating workplace loneliness is to look at people in identical roles in different lines of business. They may have other people with them in-person in their work group, but they are the only ones in that work group with their responsibilities. There are others in the same position, however, in other work groups. Those individuals could be brought together regularly, too.
It can make you feel less lonely when you can talk through your challenges with others in the office who have the same responsibilities within a different line of business.
Minding the Mental Health Impact of Loneliness
When loneliness is bad enough, it can become a mental health concern. For that reason, Gilliland recommends making mental health a priority. She points out a campaign her own company, General Dynamics Information Technology, launched three years ago called “How Are You, Really?”
The campaign encouraged leaders to pay attention to the emotional well-being of employees, she says. “The program has resulted in companywide conversations on topics such as suicide, depression, and anxiety, and thousands of employees accessing counseling and other mental health resources.”
While groups centered on commonality of work responsibilities can ease feelings of loneliness, Gilliland says that interactions that lessen isolation can be unrelated to work.
“Interactions not related to work tasks can also play a critical role by strengthening team bonds and offering opportunities for collaboration. This can take place through virtual coffee meetups, employee resource groups, or technical communities. And for someone who is struggling with intense feelings of isolation, a company culture that prioritizes meaningful connections can have a significant impact,” she writes.
A communal coffee break in which a large group on a nice day takes a walk together to a nearby coffee shop could be a loneliness elixir. Another antidote to loneliness could be taking a walk to nowhere together—just walking an hour for the sake of exercise and fresh air a few times a week.
Beware of the illusion of company. An employee who spends a whole day alone among others is no better off than an employee who sits alone in an empty home all day.
Do you think about the mental health of your employees, including how lonely some of them may be?
