It's lonely at the top...and all the way down!

Today's as good as any to talk about it.

CEOs, Chairs, and Managers often say it's lonely at the top. And that may well be true.

Increasing research, however, suggests that this is a problem throughout most organisations.

Ironically, loneliness is a global epidemic despite all the communication channels and high tech available to us.

This flows into the workplace. And with half our waking hours spent at work, it's no surprise.

Gallop's new State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report is confronting:

» Job levels have little association with loneliness.

» 20% or one in five employees report experiencing loneliness a lot.

» Same percentage for both men and women.

» Loneliness is more prevalent in younger (under 35) people.

» On-site is best with just (16%) compared to hybrid (21%) and fully remote (25%) levels of loneliness.

Key symptoms are unpunctuality, sick days, fluctuations in performance and job changes.

However, managers have a powerful and influential role to play in reducing loneliness.

1. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT - The more engaged an employee is, the less likely they are to be lonely (infact 64% less likely). If an employee is actively disengaged, their loneliness levels drop to those who are unemployed (32%).

2. BEING HEARD - Listening to employee's opinions is another way good managers can care better for their employees. What we call Voice and Choice engagement factors can result in almost 40% in likeliness to be lonely.

3. MAXIMISING STRENGTHS - having team members play to their strengths is another unsurprising strategy to reduce loneliness (by 37%). Not only does it improve mental wellbeing it is a significant contributor to performance.

4. BEST FRIEND AT WORK - Having a best friend at work can reduce loneliness by 21%. Our work in this area (personal relationships at work) shows that it also enhances team performance and, most importantly, increases tenure (reduces staff turnover/quitting).

If you're a manager and want to act on this today, start with Weekly 1on1s (at worst fortnightly), even if they are for 15 minutes. It's the proven way to improve engagement.

If you'd like to understand more about the Character, Emotionalities, Strengths and Engagement (Voice & Choice) factors of your employees, take our Scout Survey: https://marvinhr.com/testing/