When you consider the impact of loneliness, do you think mainly about its effects on life outside of work? If you do, think again.

Loneliness is caused by an individual’s unmet need for social connectedness, and it affects an employee’s engagement at work and an employer’s bottom line. In fact, it costs employers more than $154 billion annually because lonely employees are twice as likely to quit and they experience higher rates of absenteeism (5.7 more days away from work
each year).1

These employees also have higher health-related risks and associated costs. And since 62% of working adults describe themselves as lonely,2 integrated disability and absence managers should be talking more about loneliness and including it in business strategies.

Loneliness has become a workplace issue — one that impacts the health and wellness of employees. Employers looking to create psychologically healthy workplaces; reduce turnover; and build strong diversity, equity, and inclusive cultures need to consider the impact loneliness can have in the workplace.

Assessing Risk

Most people spend approximately 90,000 hours at work — an experience that can offer social connectedness, which influences job satisfaction, employee performance, creativity, and overall competence. However, work in and of itself does not remedy loneliness,3 and geographic proximity to an employer is not a magic bullet. The most critical factor is to create connections that matter, regardless of work settings. While requiring a return-to-office mandate may seem like a solution to loneliness, this issue existed before the COVID-19 pandemic and the onslaught of isolation that followed. In fact, more than 50% of working adults reported feelings of loneliness before the pandemic.3

And while everyone can experience loneliness, some are at higher risk, including individuals who emigrate from other countries; those who earn less than $50,000 a year; people who live alone; and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersexual, and asexual/aromantic community.4 In addition, people with mental, physical, and behavioral health conditions; victims of abuse or violence; and marginalized and discriminated populations experience loneliness at higher rates.4 Loneliness also affects some people at disproportionate rates — usually those who experience inequities in other areas of their lives.

While loneliness can present at different stages in life, older adults often report higher rates.6 The pandemic exacerbated loneliness. The isolation and lack of social interaction related to the pandemic decreased connectedness with others, and some have not reconnected with their social networks.

Workplace Solutions

One way to reduce loneliness for mature employees is to implement a mentorship program, which can help build meaningful relationships at work.7 Identifying ageism in the workplace, especially in relation to training, can also help foster a more inclusive environment for older employees.9

Creating opportunities for inclusion may help across the board considering generational differences with loneliness. For example, more than eight in 10 employees born between 1997 and 2012 (Generation Z) and seven in 10 employees born between 1981 and 1996 (millennials) describe themselves as lonely.10

Understanding the unique challenges faced by individuals specifically in relation to demographic and diversity factors can help employers develop more strategic interventions to addressing loneliness in the workplace because a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Employers should invest in strategies that include a multistaged approach with a customized focus on people who are at the highest risk, such as Gen Z, millennials, minorities, new employees, and remote workers.1

Feeling isolated or lacking meaningful connections in the workplace often leads to disengagement, job dissatisfaction, lack of motivation, and negative perceptions of workplace environments. Measuring loneliness in the workplace can be challenging though resources exist, including the Loneliness at Work Scale8 and the UCLA Loneliness Scale.11

Asking employees about social connectedness and belonging at work can provide additional insights and may result in higher survey participation as there can be stigma related to loneliness. There are lots of options for belonging and social connectedness at work survey instruments, and nonempirical routes include regular check-ins as well as being inclusive, appreciative, and empowering when interacting with colleagues. 12

In fact, some employees may be uncomfortable with the topic overall and believe it is irrelevant for the workplace. To help address this stigma, organizations should educate employees regularly about the prevalence and causes of loneliness and incorporate reminders of workplace support, including employee assistance programs, employee resource groups, and other wellness programs in company outreach.

Employee Health and Absence Management

Loneliness affects employees’ mental and physical health, which can result in higher sick leave utilization, increased workplace absence, and use of short-term disability.4

In fact, loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.5 Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that loneliness weakens the immune system and increases the likelihood of serious health risks, including a 29% increase in heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.4 It also leads to an increase in psychosis, personality disorders, depressive symptoms, suicide,13 and impaired cognitive performance, and may increase risks for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia by up to 50%.

Employer Strategies

Building social connection in the workplace requires a strong diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility approach. A supportive culture and psychologically healthy workplace are building blocks for social connectedness, and belonging at work starts at the top. This means that building quality connections at work is part of the business strategy. Organizations should evaluate social connections in the workplace by asking these questions:14

  • Do employees believe their colleagues genuinely value and care for them?
  • Do employees believe their workplace culture supports giving and receiving kindness?
  • Would employees characterize their relationships with colleagues as being driven more by love or by fear?

The surgeon general’s advisory on the epidemic of loneliness outlines additional strategies employers can use to combat loneliness at work.3 Making social connections a priority across the workplace and all employee and organizational levels tops the list. It can seem challenging when working in remote environments but building team connections can be as easy as starting meetings with a few minutes dedicated to discussing weekend plans, asking employees to share reduction techniques, introducing team-building exercises, and building in virtual social activities. Allowing employees to connect as people, not just as employees relegated to specific tasks or workplace duties, helps create workplace cultures and practices that promote authentic connections.

Training and empowering company leaders to create meaningful connections are also necessary as is educating all employees (including leaders) on the importance of social connection and its effect on health and well-being.3

Respecting work-life boundaries is another important step in combating loneliness in the workplace.3 Encouraging employees to protect their time away from work by implementing policies and practices that do not require employees to check or respond to emails, be available for phone calls, or feel obligated to work while not at work goes a long way toward supporting employees’ social connections in their personal lives.

Building flexibility across all workplace platforms, policies, and programming further enhances work-life balance by supporting employees in their personal lives.3 Building and nurturing social connections outside of work can be inhibited by stringent workplace environments that don’t respect employees’ needs to care for and connect with those most important in their personal lives.

Employers face many challenges in meeting the needs of diverse populations of employees and the ever-changing world of work. Loneliness, while a challenge faced by many, has now become a workplace issue and an important factor in employee health and wellness.

Creating authentic social connections at work, regardless of workplace setting or geographic boundaries, helps employers support whole-person health and develop workplaces that reduce the chance of loneliness and strengthen authenticity. Social connectedness should be incorporated in absence management strategies by supporting employees while they are at work and while they are away.

  1. Bowers, Anne, et al. “Loneliness influences avoidable absenteeism and turnover intention reported by adult workers in the United States.” Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance 9.2 (2022): 312-335
  2. Lustig, S & Bowers A. Empowering Employers to Address Loneliness in the Workforce (umaryland.edu) Journal of Employee Assistance, EAPA. October 2022
  3. General, US Surgeon. “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community 2023
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 30, 2023. Health Risks of Social Isolation and Loneliness. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/loneliness.htm
  5. Holt-Lunstad J, Robles TF, Sbarra DA. Advancing social connection as a public health priority in the United States. Am Psychol. 2017;72(6):517-530
  6. Wu, Bei. “Social isolation and loneliness among older adults in the context of COVID-19: a global challenge.” Global health research and policy 5.1 (2020): 27
  7. Sullivan, Diane M., and Bari L. Bendell. Help! Lonely at work: Managerial Interventions to Combat Employee Loneliness.” Business Horizons 66.5 (2023): 655-666
  8. Wright, Sarah L., Christopher DB Burt, and Kenneth T. Strongman. Loneliness in the workplace: Construct Definition and Scale Development. 2006
  9. Taylor, Mary Anne, and Jennifer Bisson. “Improving the psychosocial environment for older trainees: Technological training as an illustration.” Human Resource Management Review 32.2 (2022): 100821
  10. Cigna. Loneliness and the Workplace: 2020 U.S. Report. January 2020. Retrieved from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.cigna.com/static/www-cigna-com/docs/cigna-2020-loneliness-factsheet.pdf
  11. Russell, Daniel W. UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure. Journal of Personality Assessment 66.1 (1996): 20-40
  12. Kennedy, Julia Taylor, and Pooja Jain-Link. What Does it Take to Build a Culture of Belonging. Harvard Business Review 2021. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2021/06/what-does-it-take-to-build-a-culture-of-belonging
  13. Hawkley, Louise C., and John T. Cacioppo. “Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 40.2 (2010): 218-227
  14. Murthy, Vivek H., and Vivek H. Murthy. Together. Vol. 617. New York, NY, USA: Harper Collins Publishers, 2020