One in five employees report experiencing loneliness globally. The new State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report shows that this percentage is higher for employees under 35 and lower for those over this age. Gallup’s analysis reveals that work location significantly impacts employees’ experiences with loneliness. Fully remote employees report the highest levels of loneliness at 25%, while those who work exclusively on-site report a lower rate of 16%. Hybrid workers fall in between, with 21% experiencing loneliness.
The study also shows that social isolation and chronic loneliness have devastating effects on physical and mental health. Harvard Professor and Gallup Senior Scientist Lisa Berkman and her colleagues studied the relationship between social and community ties and mortality rates over a nine-year span. The risk of mortality among people who lacked community and social ties was two times greater than that of people who had many social contacts. These differences were independent of physical health, socioeconomic status and health practices.
In general, working adults are less lonely (20%) than those who are unemployed (32%), and this remains true across age groups. Work interactions do not necessarily need to be in person to provide a benefit. Another Gallup study found that all forms of social time (phone, video, texting, etc.) are associated with a better mood. That said, technological interactions such as messaging have thresholds — moods drop after moderate amounts. This finding aligns with the findings of the State of the Global Workplace that working on-site is associated with lower reported loneliness.
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Source: State of the Global Workplace Report | Gallup
