Why So Many People Are Lonely at Work (And What We Can Do About It)
Loneliness at work is a growing concern in many professions. It’s not uncommon for people to feel isolated to the extent that it negatively impacts their well-being. Jobs were once dominated by face-to-face interactions. But to reduce the number of interruptions during the workday, a majority of U.S. companies have opted for open-office designs that reduce physical collaboration among coworkers which is exacerbating the problem. Workplace loneliness is often attributed to an introverted group of employees, or even office cliques that intentionally exclude new staff members. Let’s further explore some of the causes of why so many people are lonely at work and what you can do to help make employees feel like they belong.
Keeping Competition Healthy
There’s a fine line between promoting healthy competition and having a ruthless work environment that pits employees against each other. Too much competitiveness becomes overwhelming and leads to feelings of isolation among coworkers because they don’t know who to trust. The best way to achieve a healthy balance of competition in diagnostics sales is by creating a cooperative work environment with sales goals that are shared in addition to having individual goals. Setting goals for the team to hit can actually help pull people together.
https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/Pages/all-the-lonely-people.aspx
Off-Site Meetings
Workplace loneliness is also a result of organizations placing too much emphasis on productivity over enabling human relationships. Providing employees with opportunities to gather away from the traditional office setting is an effective technique that builds personal connections and trust between colleagues. Try off-site meetings if your employees are suffering from loneliness. Other healthcare leaders have started offering monthly automated introductions that enable employees to meet staff members from other departments. You can also sponsor book clubs and host events that focus on reducing the stigma associated with employees who might be experiencing mental health issues. You can also just take people outside for a “walking meeting” as an option.
Balancing Technology
Technology has made sales and marketing roles much more efficient. It’s difficult to imagine any workplace without it. The problem is that you might be enabling your employees to overuse tech on the job resulting in a barrier between coworkers. While no one is expected to abandon all forms of technology, if you want to be a successful leader, then start discussing goals directly with your employees instead of sending emails.
https://www.themuse.com/advice/suffering-in-silence-what-to-do-when-you-feel-isolated-at-work
Good relationships among co-workers is the best way to reduce workplace loneliness. You can’t force everybody to be friends, but you can promote a collaborative work environment by keeping the competition healthy. Use tech wisely and offer employees opportunities to gather outside of the office to build personal connections.
