Why we’re on course for an epidemic of loneliness

Why we’re on course for an epidemic of loneliness

A new report by Buffer (State of Remote Work 2022) has found that more remote and hybrid workers are struggling with loneliness — up to 24% from 20% in 2020. Working conditions aren’t getting any easier, there’s no signs of a ‘settling in’ to new ways of working and a balance between isolation and workplace community.

The report also found that 52% of employees globally feel less connected to their co-workers since they moved to remote working. Work routines in themselves have become more formal ‘transactional’ with no space for ad hoc social contact and gatherings which provided more human ‘breathing spaces’ throughout the day.

Social duty of care

The problem of how to better support staff and create a more sociable and connected hybrid environment is one for employers: a survey by workplace tech firm Silicon Reef claims that 73% of UK remote workers believe their employer should be doing more to deal with the issue of staff loneliness.

The general view is that HR and employers can best help with workplace wellbeing by making the ‘check-ins’ with staff more regular. Managers need to get better at spotting changes in manner and behaviour virtually. Employees should be given even more flexibility in their working day at home, with more opportunities to break up the day — a move away from micro-management towards judging performance purely through outputs. 

Head-on

“When an issue is so difficult to raise in conversation — the ‘L’ word — employers need most of all to make sure their remote and hybrid workers have someone they can speak to in confidence, without making a big deal of it with a manager or colleagues,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell. 

“All the evidence suggests it’s not something people want to do, they’d rather grin and bear it; and that can only happen for so long before loneliness becomes a factor in mental wellbeing. All the efforts by HR to introduce new forms of virtual social contact have their place, but it’s critical that people have a means of talking about the issues openly and in the context of their personal situation.”

Read more about the report here