{"id":64,"date":"2024-09-27T10:56:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T14:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/?page_id=64"},"modified":"2024-10-29T15:03:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:03:03","slug":"lonely-at-work","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/happy\/lonely-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Lonely at Work? You\u2019re Not Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

A BU researcher is exploring questions about loneliness on the job<\/a>, such as how does it impact the workplace and what can employers do to counteract it.\u00a0<\/strong>Constance Hadley<\/strong><\/a>, a Questrom School of Business research associate professor in management and organizations, studies a problem the US surgeon general has declared a lethal pandemic, saying a lack of social connection can be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural to assume that loneliness at work started during the pandemic. But Hadley\u2019s research began before that. In a study of nearly 500 global executives and other managers, most respondents struggled to connect with\u00a0teammates at work, and feelings of loneliness correlated with aspects of how modern teams are designed.<\/p>\n

This lack of connection was a significant problem, Hadley realized. What\u2019s more, these feelings of isolation have a severe economic impact, with employers losing an estimated $154 billion annually due to stress-related absenteeism.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Business professor Constance Hadley<\/strong> studies how loneliness affects the workplace and what employers can do about it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fortunately, Hadley sees a way forward but offers some caution for our postpandemic world: \u201cJust skipping to in-person and hoping that somehow people re-bond is wrong,\u201d she says. \u201cA forced return to the office with tremendous employee resistance can create that alienation that will increase loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Hadley recommends changes that start with leadership. This means strategically creating an environment in which people are expected to care for each other, and encouraging managers to prioritize that environment.<\/p>\n

Employers can lead by example, taking a personal interest in employees and showing them their individual situations and contributions are valued. Tactical thinking about the workspace may also facilitate connection: open-concept floor plans designed for collaboration and socializing have adversely resulted in people putting on headphones to block each other out. Instead, employers might dedicate spaces for people to interact.<\/p>\n

As Hadley explains, employers can\u2019t just say to workers, \u201cGo out and make friends.\u201d There needs to be a structure and mind-set in place to avoid workplace loneliness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BU researcher is exploring questions about loneliness on the job, such as how does […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1859,"featured_media":0,"parent":60,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"bu-landing","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1859"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":714,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions\/714"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}