Despite improvements in technology making it easier than ever to stay in touch with loved ones, loneliness is on the rise. Earlier this year, the US Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murthy, declared loneliness a public health epidemic. And with a growing number of businesses adopting remote and hybrid working arrangements, as well as a labour force with new priorities following the Covid-19 pandemic, this issue is impacting workplaces, too.In the 2023 State of the Nation Report, one in three Australians reported feeling lonely, and most were reticent to talk about it for fear of further ostracisation. Dr Shea Fan, senior lecturer in management at RMIT University, told Inside Retail that while loneliness is often discussed from a social standpoint, it is rarely seen as a workplace phenomenon. However, with people spending a third of their lives at work, their experiences on the job can actually alleviate, or exacerbate, the issue.“People often look for solutions from society,” Fan said. “But our research has found that work actually plays a big role in causing people’s loneliness.”Not only that, but depending on the work that a person does, as well as their position within their company, their sense of loneliness can become far worse. Lonely at the topAccording to Fan, people in management positions often struggle to create meaningful relationships with colleagues due to the inherent power imbalance. “That power can distort relationships,” Fan explained. “It can make it harder to create authentic relationships, and people at the top tend to end up psychologically distant from a lot of people in their organisation. “That’s why they say that it’s ‘lonely at the top’. It’s an occupational hazard for them, because they can be responsible for major decisions, and need to show strength during difficult times which can make it hard to share emotional information with colleagues.”Gig workers, meanwhile, suffer from a different issue, Fan said. They are essentially always alone at work, and are unable to create any meaningful relationships with fellow workers.And with more workers in traditional ‘office’ jobs now working remotely or in a hybrid fashion, the risk of feeling isolated from colleagues is larger than ever before. While loneliness is certainly an issue for the individuals who experience it, it also leads to worse work outcomes. When people feel disconnected from their colleagues and workplace, there’s often a drop in productivity and loyalty.However, simply forcing employees back into the office isn’t likely to solve the problem, Fan said. “You can’t force people to socialise,” she said, noting the often negative reaction to office-based social events. Instead, workplaces need to make more strategic changes to the way they operate in order to get the best out of staff.So, what can be done?Rather than construct social gatherings at work and force workers to mingle, it is more useful to instead rethink the balance between work and play, Fan said. In the modern workplace, many workers are being stretched thin by the demands of an always-on workplace, and are burned out. So, taking up more of their precious non-work time with work-related events is only going to make their discontent worse.Rather, employers should think carefully about what their workers actually need to be doing, and what can be pushed back to allow their employees some breathing room. If staff have the opportunity to talk to one another without the pressure of an impending deadline, they are more likely to be able to connect and end up feeling more socially fulfilled. Additionally, by ensuring that a workplace’s culture is inclusive and informal, employees and employers can feel more comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, and are more likely to connect with one another.This has the dual benefit of improving workers’ wellbeing, as well as their productivity.“I think it’s a new angle for employers to think about,” Fan said. “It’s not enough to just ask people to work more efficiently. You have to support them, too. Workers are humans, and if they come to the office to work and socialise they’ll be happier and work more effectively.”