US NewsWhy Are America's Workers So Lonely? — A New Study Provides Some CluesWhat's going on: Sure, working from home can make people feel isolated, but new research from the Harvard Business Review, says mandating everyone back to the office full-time isn’t exactly a cure-all. The study surveyed 1,000 full-time office workers (ages 22-50) from industries like finance, healthcare, software engineering, and consulting. The results? The loneliest workers are those who clocked in a lot of face-to-face time, with 47% of these folks saying they spent nearly half of their last month at the office. Meanwhile, employees of color were more likely to experience loneliness, while those who are caregivers reported feeling less lonely. Curious where you rank? Find out your loneliness score with this assessment. What it means: The study suggests that full-time in-person or hybrid work has minimal impact on loneliness levels. Instead, factors like the number of social opportunities available and a person's level of extroversion play a bigger role (surprise: introverts feel more alone). The US Surgeon General has even identified loneliness as a major societal issue with serious health and cultural consequences. In the workplace, lonely employees tend to be less productive, more likely to quit, and could rack up higher healthcare costs. So what’s the fix? One of the study’s authors told Axios that employers need to assess how their teams are feeling, give employees a real shot at work-life balance, and — yes — throw in some team bonding. Even something as simple as a lunch or happy hour could make a difference (but maybe we can skip the icebreakers). Related: Small Steps You Can Take to Feel Less Alone (CNN) |