Understanding and addressing workplace loneliness for your staff

Loneliness is often thought of as something that impacts us in our personal lives, rather than professional ones. Yet workplace loneliness is a growing concern that affects not only individuals but also the overall performance of teams and organisations. 

But how exactly can staff within a busy workplace be lonely when they’re surrounded by colleagues, and for aged care and healthcare settings, residents, patients and clients? Dr Michelle Lim, Chairperson & Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, said loneliness can be described as the distressing feeling someone experiences when they feel current relationships are not meeting their social needs. 

Therefore, someone can have numerous work relationships, but if the quality of the relationship does not meet individual needs, workers can still feel lonely while surrounded by others. This can have a profound impact on mental health, well-being and workplace productivity.

“It is estimated that one-in-four Australians report problematic levels of loneliness and in some reports, workplace loneliness is reported to be as high as 37%,” Dr Lim explained. 

“These estimates vary from sample to sample and whether it was conducted post-COVID-19. What we do know is there is not enough focus on workplace loneliness and we have emerging evidence that it affects lower workplace productivity, lower creativity and higher absenteeism.”

Loneliness in Australia

• Research has shown that close to 5 million people are impacted by loneliness
• Young adults are a high-risk demographic with 37%-50% of people aged 18-24 reported to be lonely
• There is a 26% increased risk of death for people who experience loneliness

Workplace loneliness also leads to increased mental health concerns, which in turn, results in staff feeling more burnt out and taking time off through sick leave. As an employer, this will impact roster consistency and your ability to provide care for residents. Increased reliance on agency staff could also lead to increased expenses over time. 

Understanding how loneliness may affect each staff member is essential. For example, some staff may be happy with one or two core workplace relationships, while others may feel the need to get along well with everyone. External factors such as workplace bullying could also have an impact as loneliness is often not something within the control of a person. 

“Factors such as low income, living in a more deprived neighbourhood, low accessibility to services, and poor health, are all factors that some people cannot control. For those who are not highly impacted by these factors, having a lonely mindset can generate more lonely feelings and behaviours that mean you withdraw from others,” Dr Lim said.

“People who are lonely often report feeling anxious about taking small steps and making the effort to reach out to others. But there is evidence that showing kindness to others or starting small talk can lead to lower feelings of loneliness. So it is critical that we encourage these feasible behaviours at our workplaces.”

One of the best ways to support staff you believe are experiencing some level of workplace loneliness is by checking in with individuals to learn what they want to get out of work on a personal level. Seeing how they interact with others will also help as you can judge whether their relationships strengthen or weaken over time, and if you should be concerned about their well-being.

Providing easy access to mental health and well-being support through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) is essential. Professional support gives your staff an opportunity to address worries within work but also at home.

Dr Lim also recommended businesses utilise learning and educational tools to better understand and identify workplace loneliness. By undertaking credible robust evidence-based training, you can strengthen your support for staff who are battling loneliness at work. Organisations such as Ending Loneliness Together provide high-quality resources and general information for anyone interested in finding out more about workplace loneliness.