Workplace Loneliness Is Contagious

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TThe COVID-19 pandemic has been a seismic event that has rippled through nearly every aspect of our lives, but some of the most dramatic and devastating effects have occurred in the workplace. Once busy offices were emptied of remote and hybrid work, impersonal messaging apps replaced face-to-face conversations, meetings and performance reviews took place virtually, and stress skyrocketed.

Alongside these changes came an epidemic of workplace loneliness, one that continues today. According to Gallup’s “Global Workplace Condition” 2024 report, more than one in five respondents reported feeling lonely “a large part” of the workday, and that figure rises to one in four workers under the age of 35.

To get a more comprehensive view of workplace loneliness, management experts at Portland State University conducted a meta-review of 233 empirical studies on the topic. They published their findings in the Management Journal.

Researchers have emphasized that loneliness is a distinct emotion from isolation. Because loneliness is a subjective feeling concerning quality According to researchers, in interpersonal relationships, it is possible to feel the nagging distress of loneliness even in a crowded office.

Read more: »We kill ourselves with work»

Researchers have discovered that, like hunger, loneliness is a biological signal from our bodies that urges us to seek connections with our fellow human beings. So, just like hunger, problems can arise when we experience chronic loneliness. They also found that employment generally reduces loneliness, as retired and unemployed people tend to report feeling lonely more often. However, there are risk factors that can make employed people feel more alone, such as high stress, low autonomy and a lack of support from managers.

“Work can be a sanctuary from loneliness, but it can also be its source,” the researchers write.

Speaking of managers, researchers have also found that lone leaders are less effective and can have detrimental effects on the well-being of the employees they supervise. In other words, loneliness can be contagious from top to bottom.

The circumstances are grim, but there is still a glimmer of hope. Although only a portion of the studies analyzed addressed remedies for workplace loneliness, researchers identified some promising practices, including stress management, social skills learning, volunteering, and mindfulness exercises.

“Given the link between workplace characteristics and loneliness, organizations should consider loneliness not a personal problem, but rather a business problem,” study author Berrin Erdogan explained in a statement. “Companies have the opportunity to design jobs and organizations to prioritize employee relational well-being. »

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Main image: Surterre / Shutterstock

• Jake Currie

  Published on January 26, 2026

  Jake Currie is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York.