If you’ve been reading the news lately, or talking to relatives, friends, or coworkers, you probably know how prevalent loneliness is — especially since Covid-19 lockdowns. More and more people are feeling disconnected and isolated than ever before: a recent study found that nearly 1 in 4 adults are lonely, a pandemic so detrimental that the surgeon general of the United States recently compared loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

While most of us assume that we know everything about loneliness — it’s a result of too much screen time and not enough in-person socialization with our friends and family — most people don’t consider loneliness when it comes to work, a place where we spend almost a third of our lives. Whether we work in-person, remotely, or perhaps a mix of both, workplace environments are equally important to consider when we consider loneliness and its impacts. 

When we think about workplace loneliness, though, we often think of the perils of work-from-home. While researchers have long been sounding the alarm on the social impacts of remote work, in truth, remote work isn’t always the culprit — studies show that almost two in 10 workers, regardless of where they do their work, still report feeling lonely. 

Here’s why: Loneliness at work is more than just physical isolation; it's a pervasive feeling of disconnect and lack of belonging that can affect individuals across an organization. It's characterized by a sense of emotional and social detachment, even in the presence of colleagues which causes employees to feel misunderstood, unsupported, or excluded, leading to decreased job satisfaction, diminished performance, and impaired well-being. Loneliness can stem from various factors — and not just the easy scapegoat of remote work —  like poor communication, interpersonal conflicts, or lack of meaningful connections with coworkers. But, new research suggests there’s also another culprit at play: lack of support, burnout, and siloed stress contribute to patterns of loneliness, particularly in career-minded women.  

While anyone can experience workplace loneliness, women in the workforce tend to bear the brunt of it, especially as they climb the corporate ladder — in fact, a recent survey found that 53% of women in the workplace experience loneliness and 60% of women say those feelings of loneliness or isolation increased as their careers progressed. Given this mounting social isolation and loneliness, nearly 53% of women have declined a job promotion, quit, or stopped working altogether. And of course, It's even worse for women of color, who report even higher rates of loneliness at work given the lack of women other BIPOC women at the top, or in the workplace at all. 

So, while loneliness can often be thought of as a passing feeling that makes us feel temporarily sad, disconnected, or unmotivated, loneliness has real-world ramifications: it’s causing women to take a hit economically, too. As women progress in their careers, they feel more socially isolated than ever, which is fueled by a lack of respect and competition among other employees, and other competing demands outside of the workforce. This places women, once again, in a position of wondering why they can’t “have it all”: both their personal and personal lives. 

Not only does loneliness in career-driven women cause them to take a step back in their aspirations, but it has physical impacts, too: 92% of senior-level women who feel lonely say they have engaged in some type of negative coping behavior at some point in their career (taking illegal drugs, overexercising, gambling, etc.). While this fact alone is enough to cause alarm, loneliness in the workplace negatively impacts the bottom line of companies, too. The Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance found that loneliness cost employers an estimated $154 billion annually in absenteeism alone. 

While remote work is here to stay, and as we discovered, is not always the culprit, it begs the question: how can people managers encourage connection and thwart loneliness as women ascend in their careers? And how can employees cultivate connection for themselves?

For managers, it’s more than just offering to host a Zoom happy hour — managers need to lead by example and be vulnerable, appropriately inquire about how employees are doing, and provide flexibility in work schedules as necessary. Organizations must also offer comprehensive benefits for things like parental and maternal leave so women have the time and ability to do it all — have their career, and family, and social lives — if they want to. And, it’s imperative that leaders encourage and cover employees' attendance of tailored career coaching, masterclasses, and workshops within communities like AllBright. 

And for employees, it’s absolutely essential that they join professional networking groups or communities of like-minded career-focused women who are struggling with the same things. Whether in-person or online, relying on other women for support, and getting advice and insights from women who have faced same hurdles,  is invaluable for creating connection and reclaiming career success from the hands of loneliness. 

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