The social connection that comes with a job can benefit our work, and our lives. Those relationships with colleagues can help us share wins or talk through problems. They can give us someone to rely on, join in activities with or just chat to. Ultimately, connecting to others can make a big difference to the way we approach and enjoy work.
In fact, 2 in 3 Australians think it’s important to feel connected to their colleagues and workmates.
But there are times when keeping that social connection alive can be hard. Work environments have changed, sometimes making it harder to connect when more people are working remotely.
When 51% of people find it easy to make connections with co-workers when in the office, many are finding it hard to feel connected from afar. A quarter of Australians are finding it harder to make these connections since the pandemic began.
So, whether you’re working from home, working differently, or just noticing that you feel lonely while you work, here’s what you can do to feel connected again.
Loneliness and social isolation have long been around. But these feelings have become more prominent, with 21% of workers report feeling lonelier at work since the start of the pandemic.
And feeling lonely isn’t necessarily linked to where we work; 1 in 4 Australians say working from home makes them feel lonely, whereas 1 in 5 say they feel lonely when they are working in the office.
“What makes us feel lonely is a perceived lack of quality connections in our life,” says Sabina Read, SEEK’s Resident Psychologist. “Loneliness is not about how many connections or relationships you have or don’t have, but it’s about the quality of those relationships.”
Read says as a result of the pandemic, many people have felt lonely and socially isolated because there have been fewer opportunities for meaningful exchanges.
More than two thirds of people (67%) said loneliness can have a negative impact on their sense of job satisfaction.Without as many chances for meaningful connection, we can feel sad, unmotivated, ‘heavy’, withdrawn or teary.
Read says we’re “hardwired to connect” with others, but this connection has been harder to achieve over the past couple of years. “But there is still a lot we can do to connect and foster those relationships in our social network.”
We’ve probably all felt lonely in some way at some stage of our lives. And those previous experiences can actually be really valuable in helping you navigate feelings of social isolation. Here are three things you can try:
The key to combating loneliness at work is making small efforts to connect with others on a regular basis. It can be helpful to remember that loneliness and isolation aren’t fixed states, but rather feelings that will ebb and flow.
By thinking of these emotions as a reminder or sign that we’re hungry for connectedness, we can start trying strategies to combat these feelings and find that sense of connection again.
Talking about loneliness can bring up difficult feelings and emotions, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. If you’re finding things tough at the moment, there’s support available to help you. BeyondBlue and Head to Health have useful resources to help you find the support you need.
Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 4800 Australians annually. Published October 2022.