I've mentioned a few times in the past that leadership can be lonely (see my posts, "Reflections on leadership", "12 O'Clock High", "It's lonely at the top", and most recently, "Fortress of Solitude"). The so-called "loneliness of leadership" has been mentioned in articles ("CEOs Often Feel Loneliness. Here's How They Can Cope"), books (see in particular the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian), and podcasts. It's such a common topic, that one would think that loneliness and leadership are tightly and permanently linked. What we often neglect, unfortunately, is that loneliness in general has become common for everyone across the board in today's society. As one Harvard Business Review article recently emphasized, "We're Still Lonely at Work". Some would even go as far as saying that we are in the midst of a "loneliness epidemic" in this country. According to recent reports, about half of all adults in the U.S. experience measurable levels of loneliness, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's not just Americans that are affected - the 2024 State of the Global Workplace report by Gallup finds that one in five employees worldwide currently feels lonely at work.
The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released an advisory last year entitled "The Healing Effects of Social Connection". According to research highlighted in the Surgeon General's advisory, loneliness significantly and negatively impacts both physical and mental health. Loneliness, as measured objectively, is associated with greater risks of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. Dr. Murthy writes, "The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity."
Noonan Hadley and Sarah Wright summarized the research on loneliness in the workplace in a recent article for Harvard Business Review ( "We're Still Lonely at Work"), specifically mentioning a number of misperceptions ("myths") about loneliness that have caused organizations (and perhaps society in general) to apply the wrong or marginally effective solutions to the problem.
Myth #1: Loneliness can be solved with in-person work. Given the number of employees who have shifted to remote or hybrid working relationships since the COVID-19 pandemic, it's tempting to suggest that the lack of connection to co-workers has created a loneliness epidemic. Again, however, the research suggests that the loneliness epidemic started before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hadley and Wright found in their own research that remote and hybrid workers experienced similar amounts of loneliness to those workers who were 100% on-site.
Myth #2: Teams will solve loneliness. It seems intuitive that working on a team would at least ameliorate some of the loneliness experienced by individual workers. Unfortunately, the research suggests otherwise. When teams carefully and deliberately foster relationships, collaboration, and a common bond, individual team members may feel less lonely. However, merely asking individuals to work together on a team won't necessarily make them feel less lonely.
Myth #3: Lonely employees are needier socially than others at work. Hadley and Wright measured both "belonging" and "loneliness" and found no correlation. They write, "Loneliness can affect anyone, regardless of how much they desire social connection in a work setting. We also found that introverts are more likely to be lonely at work than extroverts, even though they tend to have less need for connection."
Myth #4: Loneliness is a personal problem, not an organizational problem. Aside from its adverse impact on physical and mental health, loneliness can also result in lower productivity, higher rates of absenteeism, and higher employee turnover.
Hadley and Wright summarize their findings and write, "It is time to stop blaming work loneliness on remote arrangements, particular jobs, and certain personal characteristics. As our prior research has shown, anyone—from the young entry-level worker to the seasoned CEO—can feel lonely on the job." They offer a number of suggestions on how organizations can address loneliness at work. However, loneliness occurs outside of work too. The U.S. Surgeon General offered a number of high-level interventions that we can all focus on in order to address the loneliness epidemic:
1. Strengthen social infrastructure in local communities. The American political scientist Robert Putnam argues in his book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community that our society today has undergone an unprecedented collapse in civic, social, associational, and political life since the 1960s, with serious negative consequences. Americans are spending less time in community groups, church, civic groups, clubs, and community organizations than ever before. Perhaps we should reconsider and go back to the way it was before (see Putnam's follow-up book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community).
2. Enact pro-connection public policies. While I'm less confident than Dr. Murthy that government can solve this problem alone, there are certainly things that local, state, and the federal government can do to foster more social connection.
3. Mobilize the health sector. If objective measures of loneliness exist (and they do), and we know that those measures impact physical and mental health, perhaps it's time that health delivery organizations pay more attention to loneliness than they have in the past (or even currently). We know that the social determinants of health account for nearly half of all health outcomes. Loneliness is an important part of the equation here too.
4. Reform digital environments. Rather than making us feel more connected, social media has actually made us less so. Technology can help address loneliness, but it can also make it worse.
5. Deepen our knowledge. As the saying goes, "Knowledge is power." There's another saying that suggests that recognizing there is a problem is the first step to solving it. We need more research on the impact of loneliness on physical and mental health, and we need more research on how best to address the loneliness epidemic.
6. Cultivate a culture of connection. Hadley and Wright also highlight the importance of fostering a culture of connection. Over the last several years, our society has become highly polarized, which has certainly contributed to our lack of connection. We need to re-connect with our peers, even the ones who may not agree with us on every single issue.
Dr. Murthy writes, "Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource - a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful." Indeed.
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