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The History And Future Of The Workplace Loneliness Epidemic

Forbes Human Resources Council
POST WRITTEN BY
John Feldmann

Adding to the long list of ways that work can negatively affect your health, a recent article in the Harvard Business Review by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy cites loneliness at work as a growing health epidemic. According to the article, loneliness can translate to a reduced lifespan equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, an even greater threat than obesity. Yet unlike smoking cessation and weight loss programs, there’s far less attention paid to improving social connections in the workplace. Furthermore, loneliness has a significant effect on work output, limiting performance and creativity and impairing reasoning and decision making.

Despite the hyper-connected world we live in, 40% of American adults report suffering from loneliness, double the rate from the 1980s. So by following the chain of causation, we can determine that the same technology connecting us all at the touch of a button is not only negatively affecting productivity at work, but it may be killing us as well.

The Good Old Days

In the past, offices were a necessity — a brick-and-mortar base of operations for every business. The office was a place where work got done during the workweek; however, there were two primary differences. First was the lunch break: 30 to 60 minutes of respite during which employees often sat down to a meal with their co-workers and bonded. Second was the after-work happy hour: the much-anticipated 5 p.m. meet-up once or twice a week when co-workers could congregate outside the confines of the office and continue their lunchtime bonding, but without the worry of returning to work afterward. Sometimes the conversation at these gatherings centered on work and sometimes it was personal. Either way, it provided an opportunity for working relationships to develop into friendships.

The Present-Day Workplace

Today, offices are viewed as an antiquated notion. Employees can eliminate the frustrating and time-consuming commute to and from the office by working from a remote location. Many businesses that require a physical presence have converted offices to co-working spaces. Watercooler talk has been replaced with text and instant messages. Meetings are held virtually via Skype. Lunch breaks consist of a PowerBar at one’s desk while struggling to keep up with unrealistic workloads, and happy hours have given way to logging on at home due to nonexistent work-life balance. Worst of all, close friendships have been replaced by thousands of social media connections, and staying in touch has been relegated to online wall posts. While technology has made connecting through a screen easier than ever before, it’s disappointing to see co-worker friendships going the way of the typewriter.

A Disengaged Future

If workplace technology continues on its current trend, we can expect progressive disengagement among employees. According to a Gallup study entitled Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements (purchase required), 30% of respondents who reported having a best friend at work were seven times more likely to be engaged at their jobs than those who didn’t. Respondents who didn’t have a best friend or strong relationships with co-workers only had a 1-in-12 chance of being engaged.

In an effort to combat loneliness and bolster employee engagement and productivity, many employers schedule team-building activities and social functions. When included during the onboarding process for new hires, these can be effective tools for ensuring employees don’t end their first couple of weeks on the job without connecting with a few co-workers. However, when dealing with tenured workers, many of whom may work remotely or varying hours, scheduling social activities may seem like herding cats. Furthermore, some more traditional employers may view it as time wasted and feel that business hours are for working, while social activities should be reserved for personal time. For these employers, realizing the importance of strengthening co-worker friendships and bonds will only come long after several employees have left the company or become disengaged to the point where work quality and output are severely affected.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to take advantage of the technological advances available in today’s society without accepting the drawbacks that come with them. The pendulum swings in both directions, and while today’s workers enjoy the advantages that increased connectivity has brought to the workplace, many suffer from resulting decreased interaction.

The only solution is for employees and employers alike to recognize the issue before it results in irreversible damage to employee engagement and productivity, while taking steps to embrace a few elements of yesteryear’s work culture that made office life enjoyable. Companies that find the right balance between technology and employee engagement will ultimately be successful in mitigating the workplace loneliness epidemic.

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