The case for better connectivity

With research indicating that chronic loneliness can be as bad for our health as smoking, joint managing director and co-founder of award-winning design and workplace consultancy, Office Principles, Cyril Parsons considers the importance of forging positive relationships at work.

Recognised as an epidemic in the UK, loneliness is, perhaps, an obvious by-product of our technology driven times, where people are isolated behind their screens and human interaction is in decline.

Feeling connected and having people to talk to meets a basic human need which is unhealthy to ignore. Given the amount of time a lot of us spend in the workplace, it’s really important to develop meaningful, personal connections at work and to make this time count socially.

Forming positive relationships in the workplace also impacts on how we feel about a job and the company that employs us, influencing how long we choose to stay and work for that employer.

No surprises then that the topic of loneliness in the workplace is high on many agendas, with businesses looking for ways to target this and introduce better connectivity in the work environment.

The nub of the problem

A survey conducted by Relate in 2014 showed that 42 per cent of workers felt they didn’t have any friends at work. Since then, a national survey for GPs has revealed that three quarters of the doctors who took part claimed to be seeing between one and five people a day who were suffering from loneliness.

So what causes loneliness in the workplace and how does it manifest itself? Technology is an obvious villain, reducing the need for human interaction, even for those in close physical proximity. Many workers tend to message or email each other rather than talk; we’re falling out of the habit of addressing people face-to-face, despite talking leading to richer exchanges than messaging.

As well as denying us the human interaction that may generate warmth and humour, emails are guilty of stripping out emotion. Unfortunately, it’s easier to send an email than to interrupt someone who is engaged in another task.

Add to the mix social media, which has replaced genuine social encounters, both inside and out of work. The various apps and platforms designed to engage don’t match real social interaction. It gets very lonely in a virtual crowd.

Looking at how we work

Hot-desking doesn’t help the battle against workplace loneliness as changing constantly and seeing an endless stream of different faces means that we don’t invest in colleagues or get to know them in the same way. The flexible work movement may foster collaborative working but it doesn’t necessarily enhance the social aspect – much as we’re less disposed to ‘own’ a desk or a spot, we’re also less likely to ‘own’ the people around us.

This is also an issue that is exacerbated by the burgeoning freelance community. As many freelancers are on short-term contracts, we don’t have time to cultivate meaningful relationships with these co-workers. We’re also less inclined to take advice from or confide in those we know only on nodding terms.

Flexible working hours mean that people come into work to work, aiming to produce their most meaningful work in a shorter office timespan and make their time in the office count so they can move on to other commitments. This absence of 9 to 5 working can mean there’s a void when it comes to traditional socialising, like drinks after work; it also means that social chit chat is limited.

Making the right changes

Mind’s Workplace Well-being team runs training courses for managers and the charity has an abundance of free resources for anyone who is concerned about workplace loneliness however employers, managers and HR professionals need to take a proactive approach to encourage and nurture better social interaction.

There are many ways to address this including the introduction of regular technology breaks and the encouraging of workers to use a mix of communication and not just email.

It’s harder for workers to relate when there’s an imbalance of age and experience. There have to be efforts made to bridge those gaps and to bring people together who wouldn’t necessarily mingle in an external social situation. Initiatives worth considering include mentoring schemes, skills swopping and shared learning activities.

Employees who work remotely should be encouraged to regularly make a physical appearance in the office and managers should also aim to create more networks, driving collaborative working, encouraging people to share team lunches and instigating workplace bonding activities.

Considering the environment

There is also a clear rationale in checking to see if there are any changes that can be made in the physical office environment to encourage more conversation and social interaction. Office design has a role in combatting workplace loneliness – even if it’s merely to be a part of the bigger picture.

In our new, open-plan, fluid workspaces, designed to encourage connectivity, points of social contact should be made apparent. If we’re creating a better flow for ourselves, with more autonomous ways of working that allow us to self-monitor and to move about as we see fit, we also need hubs to collect at. These are the spaces that will encourage us to stop, talk and interact.

If we create the best spaces, as well as the most inclusive cultures, workplace relationships will stand a better chance of developing and growing and we can make a decent effort to cancel workplace loneliness out.