How to Combat WFH Loneliness - Glassdoor Blog

Remote work has plenty of perks: Your commute to the office is only a few feet, you can wear more relaxed clothing, you can work from home or a favorite coffee shop, and your schedule is (generally) more flexible than that of an in-office worker.

But remote work also has some drawbacks – one of which can be feeling alone at work. “Remote workers are likely to experience loneliness because working from home doesn’t give them the opportunity for social interaction the way that working in an office does,” says career and executive coach Susan Peppercorn. Remote work can be extremely isolating, especially for people who are “extroverted and derive energy from interacting with other people,” she says.

But you don’t have to live with work-from-home depression and loneliness. Here, we’re sharing new data around the frequency and effects of feeling alone at work, as well as expert advice on how to deal with loneliness and make real connections with your coworkers.

It’s normal to feel lonely at work

Whether you work from home or report to an office, feeling isolated at work is incredibly common. A Glassdoor survey* revealed that 31% of remote employees feel lonely at work, compared to 23% of hybrid employees and 21% of in-person workers. While real-life face-time may alleviate some loneliness, it doesn’t wipe it out completely.  

And those feelings have a ripple effect: Less than half of all workers in the survey reported feeling psychologically “very safe” at work, which means that teams are missing out on open, honest conversations about their ideas, concerns, questions, and mistakes. 

Isolation at work

Long-term loneliness isn’t good for employees or the companies for which they work. Loneliness can impact “our mood and energy levels, leading work productivity to suffer,” says Matt Glodz, managing partner of Resume Pilots. For employees, that can mean working longer hours to finish tasks, and that can lead to feelings of resentment toward the work itself, Glodz explains.

Loneliness also impacts employees’ “physical and emotional wellbeing,” says Tia Graham, chief happiness officer and founder of Arrive at Happy. “The mind and body are connected, so workers could start experiencing issues like chronic pain or having trouble sleeping,” issues that can impact your happiness and ability to “be a successful leader or team member at work”

16 ways to beat loneliness in the workplace

1. Embrace work friendships

Even today, work friendships remain important. Over half of employees (51%) say they have a best friend in the workplace, and a whopping 63% of Gen Z employees have a best friend at work.

 According to employees, the benefits of having a best friend at work include:

Yet making friends as an adult is hard. The key ingredients of friendship—continuous unplanned interaction and shared vulnerability—are less common in most of our environments as adults; plus research shows that casual friendships take about 50 hours on average, while close friendships take about 200. Work may not be the first place you think of for making friends, but it’s actually an efficient way to identify people who can share a common core of experiences.

2. Volunteer to lead a project that involves others  

Take the initiative and ask your manager if there are gaps in his or her goals that you can fill – then step up and “own one of them,” says career and executive coach Susan Peppercorn. Not only will this demonstrate your leadership skills, she says, but it will also give you an opportunity to interact with others as you work alongside your team to execute the project and meet the goal.

3. Schedule social breaks

In the office, social breaks from work happen naturally and regularly: Coworkers stop by for a quick chat, or you run into a colleague in a common space. But “when working from home, it’s easy to plug into your work and forget to take a break,” says Glodz. He recommends using the Pomodoro method, which “forces you to take several five-minute and 15-minute breaks” a day.

You might use the time to schedule virtual coffee breaks with coworkers, Glodz says. “Instead of messaging on Slack all day, set up one or two coffee breaks with a coworker,” he says. “By intentionally building some time for social interaction into your day, you’ll start to rekindle the relationships you built in the office.” This can be especially beneficial “if you’re new to the company,” Glodz says because scheduled coffee breaks can help you meet your new teammates.

4. Offer and seek support in online communities

A physical office isn’t the only place to have meaningful conversations about work. As we increasingly live our lives online, there are a growing number of ways to create community online through professional associations, employee resource groups, and platforms like Glassdoor Bowls™. Glassdoor has thousands of unique career communities online where workers can engage as themselves or anonymously.

5. Spend more time with friends and family

To combat general loneliness, it’s important to have strong relationships, says Graham. “This means spending time with people that you care about and who care about you,” she says. “How much time are you spending with family and friends?” If the answer is “not much,” it’s time to plan some QT with your network. “Make a point to connect with someone – not over social media,” says Graham, and “talk to them and share what you’re feeling” about remote work.

6. Organize a team-building activity

Work doesn’t have to be “work, work, work all the time,” says Peppercorn. “If you work from home, [consider organizing] a virtual scavenger hunt, wine tasting, yoga class or anything that will engage your co-workers and help you build relationships” with them outside of work tasks.

If it’s not possible to get together in person, virtual “outings” can be great for team building, too. For example, try gamification or virtual escape rooms to replace in-person team building, says Graham. “These activities foster belonging and grow relationships in the virtual world,” she says.

7. Get outside

“If you’re feeling lonely, get outside for 15 minutes,” Glodz recommends. By leaving the house, “you’ll remind yourself that there’s a world outside your window and open the opportunity for a bit of social interaction – whether that’s petting a neighbor’s dog, saying ‘hi’ to the mailman, or asking the coffee shop barista about their day,” he says. Social interactions will fight loneliness. 

8. Give back and be generous

Sometimes, “unhappiness comes from focusing too much on ourselves,” Graham says, adding that looking outward for ways to help others can in turn help ease your loneliness. “In your circle of family and friends, are there people you can help? In your community, are there people or organizations that you can donate your time to?” she asks. Check with your manager or HR team — many companies even provide paid time off for volunteering, or matching funds for your charitable contributions.

9. Team up with an accountability buddy 

Because loneliness can lead to a lack of productivity, it’s important to stay on task. Peppercorn recommends finding a colleague who can help you meet your deadlines by keeping you accountable. “Offer the same for them,” she says, and you may find your loneliness will wane.

10. Start your day with movement

Graham suggests breaking up your workday with a brief walk or starting or ending it with a trip to the gym or exercise class where you’ll see other people. “Physical activity releases dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which play a part in regulating your mood,” Graham explains. Releasing these chemicals “will boost your overall happiness – and will make you feel less lonely if you’re working out around others.”

Executive coach Piper Watson agrees. “Getting the blood flowing at least once a day – periodically throughout the day, before and after work and on breaks – has several positive effects,” she says. In addition to increasing those feel-good chemicals, the increased blood flow that exercise releases can enhance “productivity and problem-solving power,” she says.

11. Ask personal — but not too personal — questions

For whatever reason, “there are things we would do naturally when in-person that we seem to forget in virtual meetings,” such as asking how people are doing, how their families are doing, or how they spent the previous evening, says Peppercorn. At the start of a virtual conversation, she recommends that you spend “a few minutes showing an interest in your team or colleague,” which “is a terrific way to build a genuine connection and will help you feel less isolated.”  

12. Pay attention to social cues

“Some people genuinely enjoy Zoom calls and virtual happy hours, while others dread them,” Glodz says. If you want to build real relationships with your work-from-home colleagues, “ask your colleague how they prefer to communicate,” he says. “They’ll likely appreciate the gesture, and perhaps that colleague who’s stressed on Zoom will be much friendlier on phone the phone.”

13. Ask your coworkers for suggestions.

Your other work-from-home coworkers can be a great resource. “Ask your co-workers for suggestions on how they've been managing from home,” says Peppercorn. “You might glean some interesting insights, offer suggestions of your own, and make a friend in the process.”

14. Turn your camera on for (some) meetings

While “Zoom fatigue is real and being on camera all the time can be draining,” says Graham, never turning your camera on can further isolate you. “People need to communicate with each other using nonverbal communication, which gets lost on a phone call,” says Graham. “Body language and laughing together are important – and using cameras can help accomplish this.” 

In addition, turn off your self-view. Staring at yourself in video meetings is distracting, it keeps you from truly paying attention to the other meeting participants, and it’s bad for your mental health. This phenomenon can also cause people, especially women, to be more critical of their appearance.

15. Make time for personal connections during meetings

When it comes time for a phone or Zoom call, don’t “jump right into business,” Graham says. Instead, “allow time for the team to share personal updates, such as a vacation they’re looking forward to or if they just adopted a dog.” This facilitates the social interaction you’re craving.

16. Acknowledge your feelings

“Loneliness is highly common for all work-from-home workers,” says Watson, “so it’s important to take a few quiet moments to yourself to acknowledge and allow it when you're having those feelings.” 

Why? Watson says that it “helps to dispel the negative emotions and create space for new insight and feelings of motivation to change the situation. This could sound like, ‘I’m feeling isolated and uninspired by my work right now, and that’s normal, human, and totally okay.’” When people push those feelings aside, rather than recognize them, they can actually increase those negative emotions, rather than reduce them. “So, a moment to acknowledge and validate what you're experiencing can go a long way to making you feel better,” says Watson.

*Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by Murphy Research on behalf of Glassdoor from July 24th, 2023 – August 1st, 2023 and was answered by 1,000 U.S. US Knowledge Workers, employed full time, ages 22-64. The data was weighted to reflect natural fallout of age and gender.