How Can Leaders Address Employee Loneliness?

Loneliness is nothing new to anyone who has ever worked remotely. Ask those who were ahead of the virtual curve, and they'll likely tell you that feeling lonely was part of their work reality.

Now, however, many roles are fully virtual - and will be for the foreseeable future. As a leader, what can you do to help your team members forge meaningful connections at work? After all, research by Shawn Achor has proven that social connections (including those with colleagues) are the largest predictor of happiness.  

According to recent research conducted by Constance N. Hadley (Boston University) and Mark Mortensen (INSEAD), and published in MIT Sloan Review, there are three things managers can do to start addressing the issue of loneliness. Here is a brief synopsis:

1. Measure it. In order to improve something, it must first be measured. This doesn't imply that one must roll out a months-long laborious process. For example, the UCLA Loneliness Scale serves as a simple and effective tool (20 questions) to capture a baseline assessment. And, managers must be asking such questions as "how are you feeling?" much more frequently in their 1:1 interactions. This provides a gauge to let managers know how people are truly doing during high stress times.

2. Foster core teams. Because work flows change frequently, and some teams can be transient in nature, having a core team element can prove beneficial. For employees who seek deeper connections, creating teams that have a "shared identity, longer duration, and common mission" are important. A practical example - having a job description that entails a certain percentage of the time dedicated to one core team.

3. Ensure effort from team leaders. Employees cannot solve this one alone. Leaders, especially those with responsibility in creating and designing teams, need to ensure they are looking at their work through a new lens. Baking in awareness and impact of employee loneliness can help address any structural or systemic frameworks that are hampering the current environment.  

Which of these three can you start incorporating into your team in 2021?

Many thanks to the researchers above for their analysis. The full MIT Sloan Review article can be found here.

Ian is host of The New Leader Podcast, helping new and aspiring leaders to build confidence, increase clarity & calm, and deliver better results. You can follow Ian here.