What can occupational healthcare do about loneliness at work?
Summary
- Work loneliness is a prolonged feeling of exclusion in the workplace.
- Work loneliness is influenced by workplace structures and individual factors.
- Work loneliness affects health and well-being.
- In the workplace, everyone can take small steps to reduce the experience of loneliness.
This page provides tips on how to reduce loneliness at work.
Loneliness at work can affect anyone, regardless of their position. It can even exist in busy work environments with lots of people and interactions with others.
- Social loneliness means that there are not enough social contacts and functioning networks at work and in the work community.
- Emotional loneliness means that there is not enough openness and trust between people within the work community.
Work loneliness undermines well-being at work and has a negative impact on job performance and a sense of community. Prolonged work loneliness can lead to an increased likelihood of illness in employees and high staff turnover.
In the following video (2:28), Pauliina explains what workplace loneliness is.
What causes loneliness at work?
Workplace loneliness can result from the nature of a workplace and shortcomings in its organization, as well as from work cultures that are individualistic and demanding.
The causes of workplace loneliness include the nature of the job, remote/hybrid work, lack of organization and leadership, social relationships at the workplace, and internal workplace factors.
Work-related and community-related factors that increase the risk of workplace loneliness include:
- psychosocial workload
- amount of remote work
- unclear communication practices
- poor support from supervisors
- weak onboarding
- insufficient feedback
Individual factors that increase susceptibility to workplace loneliness include:
- a developing or changing work identity
- attitudes to work and towards other members of the work community
- a lack of social skills
- negative life events
- personality traits
- belonging to a minority group
Additional factors that contribute to workplace loneliness:
- a lack of necessary workspaces and tools
- high workload demands and urgency
- uncertainty about job continuity
- loneliness in supervisory roles
Workplace loneliness also occurs in communities where social exclusion, or ostracism, is present.
Loneliness at work is exhausting
Its effects are visible in work performance and social interaction. Workplace loneliness is a significant well-being and productivity risk for both the individual and the entire work community.
A culture of “managing alone” makes it harder to ask for and accept help, even in occupational healthcare.
Prolonged loneliness and struggling alone leads to serious health problems.
Experiencing loneliness at work makes work more difficult. It:
- increases stress
- raises the risk of burnout
- fosters cynicism towards work and the work community
- weakens professional self-esteem
- makes recovery during and after the workday harder
- complicates the work-life balance
- increases absences
Workplace loneliness is linked to challenges in coping with demands and health problems. It:
- lowers work motivation and endurance
- affects mood (either low or overreactive)
- causes lack of initiative in social relationships
- impacts sleep
- hinders concentration at work
- causes various physical health issues, such as recurring illness and pain conditions
Investing in social health protects against loneliness at work
Maintaining social health is just as important as paying attention to physical and mental health.
The role of the work community and the supervisor is to support collaboration. A good relationship with your supervisor and colleagues promotes well-being at work.
Occupational healthcare can support an employee’s social health by recognizing individual strengths that protect against workplace loneliness and by identifying and addressing risk factors and ways to influence them:
- support for practical work and problem situations
- positive attitude
- active efforts to foster belonging in the work community
Community spirit protects against workplace loneliness and is strengthened by:
- social support from colleagues
- open communication within the work community
- solution-focused dialogue and communication
Identify protective factors against loneliness
An employee’s own resources and ability to strengthen them protect against loneliness, for example:
- self-management skills
- ability to progress independently in work tasks
- developing expertise and a positive attitude toward learning
- teamwork skills, sufficient flexibility, and necessary assertiveness
- skills for belonging to and participating in the work community
Workplace loneliness can be addressed in occupational healthcare by identifying individual resources and strengths, and by also helping the employee to recognize unmet needs that contribute to the loneliness.
At best, the work community provides the necessary support when the employee first identifies what they need and knows how to seek and ask for it
Tips for the occupational healthcare professional
How to reduce loneliness at work
- Recognise and talk about it: Loneliness can easily go unnoticed. Taking the time to address the issue in occupational health tells the employee that social health is important. Conversation itself reduces loneliness and helps to identify situations early.
- The need to be heard: Talking openly and compassionately and listening to the worker's experiences in a reflective way builds trust and encourages them to consider different options in a situation that seems difficult.
- Personal skills: Asking about colleagues and the work community helps the employee to recognise their own strengths and also to reflect on what works well in the work community and what they can build on in the future.
- Participation in the work community: Occupational health supports participation in the work community by working together to find solutions that support social health. Social health includes skills that each employee can develop to be better in their work community. In occupational health, you can promote social health by talking about its importance and discussing it openly.
1. Frame the conversation with compassion
Explain that the questions about loneliness relate to social relationships and community at work, not to individual traits.
"Loneliness in the workplace is common but often invisible. We ask these questions so we can better understand what you need to feel well."
2. Talk openly, listen without assumptions
If the answers indicate loneliness:
- Ask gently for clarification: "Are there any situations in which you have felt left out?"
- Find out whether it’s a constant experience or related to specific situations or structures.
- Assess their workload amount and the amount of leisure time they have, as well as any opportunities for recovery and support.
3. Support the individual and move them towards a better connection with their community
Well-being often improves simply by putting the experience into words and being acknowledged. If needed, you can:
- suggest discussing the issue and solutions with their supervisor
- propose different options (e.g., team work arrangements, workplace coaching, group-based support)
- refer to psychosocial support if loneliness is linked to other mental strain factors.
Read more
On this page, you will find compiled materials developed together with young people entering working life and those already employed, as well as professionals who deal with loneliness at work.
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When and where to get help?
Professional help
Professional help may be necessary when your own resources, self-help exercises and support from family and friends are not enough. A professional will listen and support you. The goal with professional help is to find new perspectives and ways to deal with a difficult situation.
You can seek help, for example, from
- occupational health services
- social and healthcare services in your wellbeing region (e.g., healthcare center)
How MentalHub.fi can help
Symptom scales
With a symptom scale, you can assess the severity of your symptoms. You will also get tips from the results on what you should do next.
Self-help programs
Self-help programs help you improve your well-being when you are concerned about your mental health or have mild symptoms. The programs include information and exercises.
Internet Therapies
Mainly for ages 16 and up. You need a referral and online banking credentials.
Internet therapy is based on independent work online. A therapist specialized in your symptoms provides feedback on your exercises and answers questions that arise during them. You need a doctor’s referral for internet therapy.
