We already know that you can be alone without being lonely, and lonely without being alone. So workplace loneliness is not simply down to spending much of your time working alone (although this can contribute to it).

Career happiness mentor Soma Ghosh points to three common reasons for loneliness at work:

Hybrid working/remote working. “Although both can be beneficial, this can cause loneliness because there can be a lack of personal interaction and everyone not being in the office at the same time. Also if your work is completely remote it can be lonely because you may never meet your colleagues or manager in person.
Not liking your job: “If you don’t enjoy your job after a while, you may want to engage less in the role or do the bare minimum and potentially work in a way that resembles quiet quitting. This can be because you already feel lonely by not enjoying what you do.”
Having poor relationships or a lack of relationship with your team or manager. “These relationships are a crucial part of being at work. You may also have a lack of relationship if your managers and team work very differently to you and this may make you feel lonely because you feel like you have no one to share your ideas with or communicate with. Feeling like you are being socially excluded or being bullied can also make you feel lonely too.”

The ‘connection’ point is key. If you feel like your job isn’t part of a bigger purpose or you’re not sure what you’re working towards as a collective, this can manifest as loneliness. After all, what’s lonelier than being a meaningless cog in a machine? If your workplace lacks a sense of community, of everyone coming together to work on one big unifying goal, loneliness seems inevitable.

As Schaffner puts it: “Creating trust-based and community-centred cultures at work requires serious effort from those who are responsible for shaping and designing work cultures. Putting on a few yoga classes or karaoke evenings does not cut it. Every single line manager and person with responsibilities for others needs to contribute to building a positive culture, by listening, checking in and giving appreciation where it is due. It is also important to help people grow and develop – to understand their needs and desires and actively to support and encourage them on their career development journeys.”

Loneliness at work could be to blame for your burnout – how do we tackle it?