Combating loneliness at work

It is National Loneliness Awareness Week from 13 to 17 June. There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on mental wellbeing across all age groups and although remote working has been welcomed by many, for others, it has increased their feelings of loneliness at work. How can employers combat isolation?

Blake Morgan Senior Associate Paul Hayward looks at how to tackle loneliness at work in an article first published by People Management on 8 June.

Loneliness can have harmful long-term effects on individuals’ mental and physical wellbeing. For businesses, this can also affect productivity – with staff more likely to start missing work due to stress – and ultimately retention, as staff become disengaged from their peers and managers.

It is important for employers to tackle loneliness in the workplace and in this article, we consider the practical steps employers can take to address the problem.

There are a number of key things employers and managers should consider:

1. Take an interest in your team’s lives. It may sound simple, but so many managers do not take a clear and active interest, or worse yet do not listen properly to concerns
2. Remember little things in an employee’s life – from birthdays to how they take their coffee.
3. Be approachable. If you are contacted by a team member while you are both working from home, do not sigh when you answer the call or give the impression that you’re being disturbed.
4. Tackle exhaustion. As you take an interest and get to know your team better it may become apparent that an employee is struggling due to working longer hours or not taking breaks.

Read the article in full here.