Workplace Loneliness: A Wake-Up Call

by Joe Wright | Published on September 24th, 2025

There’s a good chance your workplace is lonely. Here’s a worrying stat from Gallup: 20% of the global workforce feel lonely throughout most of their day.

If you’re wondering what the cost of that might be, you won’t for long. Gallup also suggests that a lonely employee is almost twice as likely to be disengaged at work. They’re far more likely to suffer from burnout too, find team collaboration anxiety-inducing, and lose confidence in their roles.

That’s on top of the crippling $8.8 trillion employers lose annually due to low engagement. Organisations with lonely employees encounter a greater risk of turnover by default. The reputational damage sustained in the aftermath may be hard to measure but it’s also hard to shake off.

It’s an issue begging for a call to action.

Loneliness at large

I went down the rabbit hole to see how deeply loneliness had burrowed itself. Creative efforts to capture the issue make for eye-catching headlines. ‘The togetherness deficit’ and ‘the friendship recession’ are just a couple of examples. ‘The anti-social century’ suggests it’s been a problem that’ll continue to linger on for some time.

Soon enough, loneliness felt global:

• New trade barriers and rising nationalism front what the WEF considers a decline in international connectedness
• The loss of third spaces makes for local news. Social hubs like libraries, community centres, even cafes and bars, are vanishing from our streets
• ‘The friendship industry’ has found footing: Hinge has voiced action through its One More Hour initiative, funding in-person connections amongst Gen Z, while M&S have created ‘May Take a Little Longer’ tills to allow lonely customers to chat with cashiers
• If you live in South Korea, you might even expect to receive $500 if you reject reclusive habits and immerse yourself in the local community

Identifying loneliness

‘Loneliness’ is as slippery as it is widespread. Some might feel lonely because they’re literally alone. Others feel lonelier in a crowd. Loneliness peaks at different times, in different places, for different reasons.

You might want to consider the different ways loneliness can show up at work. It’s unlikely to be obvious straight away. An employee could feel lonely because they’re unrecognised; or they could equate loneliness with underappreciation; or it could be that their lonely workplace lacks transparent communication…

While any one of these factors may accelerate the problem, the outcome for employers narrows into a devastating sequence. Loneliness leads to disengagement, disengagement means poor performance, and poor performance results in greater losses and higher turnover. To break the chain, it’s crucial that employers consider how loneliness roots itself in the everyday.

Addressing loneliness

Our global EX report, The Employee Experience Gap, explores practical steps you can take to tackle the issue.

We found that recognition and appreciation rank amongst employees’ must-haves at work. This comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s as simple as a “thank you” for a job well done. But recognition can be built into workplace culture at an organisational level too, with tools, templates, and training driven by managers who understand the significance of feeling seen.

We also highlighted a bond between transparency and inclusion, identifying actionable ways to help employees feel part of the bigger picture. Our research showed that transparency doesn’t just stop at honest communication. A transparent environment breeds trust between colleagues, fosters respect, and ends with people feeling valued for their input. That connection means employees are left better equipped to face change together.

EX strategies provide plenty of scope in reducing loneliness. From the day they set foot in the office, employees could be onboarded alongside a mentor or buddy. Attention could be given to ERGs to unite employees with shared views and backgrounds. Virtual engagement opportunities could help reduce the distance felt by remote and hybrid workers. As workplace cultures evolve, the list goes on.

Some stats offer hope. Research from Gartner suggests that adapting working norms to become more employee-centric makes you 10% more likely to meet organisational targets. It sounds like a no-brainer to shift focus towards employees’ everyday experience to deal with disconnect. Given that workplace loneliness is no rarity, it also sounds too pressing to ignore.

Get in touch

At Havas People, we talk with employers all the time about the significance of employee wellbeing, and its impact on performance. You can count on us to help embed a bigger EX focus within your organisation, or to help share your employer brand story with the world. It’s a space we pride ourselves on knowing, inside and out.

To learn more about  The Employee Experience Gap, you can download our report here. And if you’d like to hear more about how we can help you with your own talent challenges, please get in touch at hello@havaspeople.com.