'It's not stress, it's not burnout, it's a kind of social isolation'
Almost one in three Australians feel lonely, according to a recent report from End Loneliness Together. The organisation’s State of the Nation Report: Social Connection in Australia 2023 looked at the relationships between loneliness and isolation, and factors such as community knowledge, mental health and work productivity.
It found that 11% of people who are lonely report absenteeism and 31% report presenteeism compared to those who didn’t feel lonely.
“People who feel lonely report less work productivity and more activity impairment compared with people who are not lonely,” the report said.
In addition, research by Dr Shea Fan, senior lecturer in the School of Management at RMIT, highlighted how employers can develop feelings of loneliness after experiencing challenges.
“They cannot tell [others] because they need to maintain the confidence from their employees and the stakeholders,” Fan told HRD Australia. “So they have to keep something in themselves that stops them from having genuine communication with others. And, gradually, they feel they are socially isolated.
“We found that when entrepreneurs feel lonely, they actually lose their entrepreneurial passion. And they're more likely to quit from their entrepreneur business.”
Causes of loneliness
But what factors cause loneliness in the workplace and what can businesses do to address it?
There are several factors that contribute to loneliness in the workplace. These include organisational practices that make it harder for employees to socialise, such as having a management role, Fan said.
“This role has power and power can distort relationships,” she said. “So, it's harder for them to develop an authentic relationship with other people.”
Sending employees overseas or to work in remote areas can also lead to feelings of loneliness.
“When that happens, you actually remove the employee from their organic social network,” Fan said. “When they enter a new organisation or new country, it's harder for them to develop new connections because they don't have the resources required such as language understanding or historical background of the local environment.”
On top of that, the rise of remote and hybrid working has added to the challenge of loneliness.
“The hybrid work model will maybe last for a long period of time,” she said. “So, if this is the reality, probably employees or organisations need to find a way to help employees to connect with each other.”
While several employees may enjoy remote work because of its flexibility, loneliness can be a side effect, Fan added.
“Some employees may be happy [working] from home but because they have fewer connections with the organisation or with other employees, their identification with organisation can be weakened,” she said. “So their commitment’s also weakened, and these kinds of employees are more likely to change jobs.”
Addressing loneliness in the workplace
The State of the Nation report examined loneliness from a social perspective, Fan said, but solutions could be developed if loneliness was looked at from a workplace perspective.
“If we look at this from as a social issue, then we try to find solutions from society, from policy, from the neighbourhood,” she said. “However, if we recognise loneliness can also be an organisational issue, then we [can] try to find solutions from organisational practice. So this is a new perspective to combat loneliness.”
To start with, loneliness is a very subjective feeling and it’s up to an individual to determine whether or not their desired social relations are met by actual social relations, said Fan.
“That's why when we provide suggestions, we provide suggestions to the individuals because, at the end of the day, it’s the individual who needs to manage their social network,” she said.
“First they need to understand what their social goals [are],” Fan said. “Do you need a big social connection within the organisation? Maybe if you view that it's beneficial to you or to your career, then this understanding helps. And then once people understand their goal, then you can compare your goal and the current situation to see if there's a gap or mismatch between these two. This kind of understanding can help people know why they feel lonely.”
The second step for individuals is to also examine their own personality.
“Is there any personality issue that stops you building social connections or building quality social connections with others?” she said. And if there is, maybe it can be improved.
How workplaces can address loneliness
Fan suggested that business leaders look at loneliness from a wellbeing perspective.
“Loneliness is a part of that wellbeing but it's not stress, it’s not burnout, it’s a kind of social isolation,” she said. “And probably this element has not been emphasised enough in the wellbeing programs that's used by the organisation.”
HR teams can also ensure they build an inclusive environment that encourages workers to turn up to social or wellbeing events they hold.
“Create a friendly or inclusive environment,” she said. “When people are happier, and then they are more likely to use the resources provided by HR, all kinds of training or social events.”
Another suggestion is for employers to balance the workload of employees.
“If you make your employees work very hard and work intensively, they will not have time to socialise,” Fan said. “And gradually it's bad because employees are humans and they're not machines. They come to the organisation, they work; if they can have a social element, they can work better and maybe they are happier so they can work more effectively.”
