New Australian research reveals workplace loneliness affects all employees, regardless of location – here's what HR leaders can do to address that
New Australian research has overturned a common employer assumption: that a shared physical workspace is enough to tackle workplace loneliness.
A survey of 856 workers by employee assistance provider Assure found that full-time onsite employees averaged a loneliness score of 5.5 on the Loneliness Scale. Remote workers scored 5.7. Both sit within the scale's moderate loneliness band.
Hybrid workers averaged 5.1, the best result across the three main working arrangements. This was still within the moderate band.
The survey responses told a consistent story:
- 60% of respondents said they lacked companionship
- 57% felt left out at least some of the time
- 63% reported feeling isolated
What does workplace loneliness mean for HR leaders?
"An employee can attend an office every day, sit in meetings and speak with colleagues, but still feel disconnected," said Michele Grow, chair of Assure's Mental Health Advisory Board and CEO Mental Health and Wellness at APM, based in Australia.
"This is not an argument against offices or flexible work. It shows that neither location automatically creates meaningful connection.
"The focus needs to shift from where people work to the quality of those relationships — whether managers genuinely know their teams and whether staff feel genuinely included," Grow said.
Assure's report, The silent disconnect, recommends that organisations treat social connection as a formal leadership responsibility which includes:
- equipping managers to recognise isolation
- building regular informal touchpoints
- offering employees varied pathways to connect
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach; organisations offer tools and strategies based on what their employees need.
How widespread is workplace loneliness in Australia?
The Assure data sits against a wider backdrop of disconnection. National data cited by social discovery platform Zeeën estimates roughly 3.7 million Australians aged 15 and over often feel lonely. Among working-age Australians, those aged 35 to 44 recorded the highest loneliness rate of any age group in 2024, at 17%.
Sydney-based psychotherapist Sarah Buckle attributes the problem to forces beyond workplace design. Remote and hybrid work, international migration, changing family patterns and the dominance of digital communication have all thinned the informal social infrastructure on which relationships once formed naturally.
"The desire for connection has not disappeared, but there are more gaps people have to bridge to achieve it," Buckle said. "When people lose those anchors — particularly after moving somewhere new — loneliness can become tied up with anxiety, fear of rejection and a sense that they don't fit in."
How can HR leaders address workplace loneliness?
For HR practitioners, the implications run deeper than return-to-office policy. Grow's framework centres on leadership behaviour rather than physical location. Managers need to be trained to notice isolation and create conditions where relationships can develop. Instead of assuming that a social event on the calendar is enough, offering different modes of connection can make a big difference.
Buckle recommends what she describes as "micro-connections" — repeated, low-pressure interactions that build familiarity gradually, before anyone faces the weight of explicitly making friends.
"A better starting point can be micro-connections," Buckle said. "It might be going to the same café regularly, walking your dog in the same place or joining an activity where you begin seeing the same people repeatedly."
Workplace loneliness does not fix itself when people share a building. Addressing it takes deliberate leadership and the willingness to ask whether employees feel genuinely connected, not just physically present.
