Talking about Mental Health Awareness … Let’s Talk About Loneliness at Work
Mental Health Awareness and Loneliness at Work - defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as 'the state of being lonely'.
Talking about Mental Health Awareness...Let's talk about Loneliness at Work
Mental Health Awareness and Loneliness at Work is a key programme that organisations are addressing due to more people working remotely and more hybrid workers. Loneliness, defined as 'the state of being lonely', and feeling isolated at work can impact on an individual's mental health and affect their productivity and performance - including the impact of disruption it brings to peer relationships and team collaboration.
Loneliness and feeling isolated at work are often brought about through issues of burnout, stress, worry and can often result in depression and fear.
It can have a crippling effect on our behaviour and the way we manage difficult situations, such as shutting ourselves away from our peers and cutting ourselves off from communicating our needs to get the help and support we need.
The environment we work in can also contribute to the loneliness we are experiencing. Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, almost half (48%) of UK employed adults have needed to adjust to changes in their working environment with new flexible working arrangements having been put in place. With hybrid working and fixed home/remote working considered now to be the norm, there is an even greater need for stronger and more effective communication between colleagues, managers and leaders of teams.
So, how do we know when a colleague is experiencing loneliness at work? It’s rare that someone will shout out “Hey! I’m feeling lonely over here and I need help!”
Those struggling with mental ill health will find it difficult to express their feelings and ask for support. It is therefore important for colleagues and managers to be more vigilant in noticing an uncharacteristic change in an individual’s behaviour and recognizing a decline in their work performance.
Active Bystander and Allyship
Managers need to be encouraging more awareness and engagement between employees. Having an Active Bystander Awareness and Allyship culture of support is important. Individuals and teams need to better understand, acknowledge and appreciate that we are all different, and we have different ways of working.
Individuals who have a specific diversity trait may have different thinking patterns and behaviours and difference in how they relate to others, or those of a social diversity minority, experience more loneliness and isolation at work. Feeling, and often being, excluded at work can bring about depression therefore it is important for their peers to encourage their inclusion at work for them to feel recognised, accepted and supported – and welcomed as part of a cohesive team.
It is also more difficult to recognise behavioural change in those working remotely and hybrid workers. Remote workers are prone to a high intensity of loneliness which can bring about negative wellbeing (physically and mentally) due to them trying to balance the demands of home and work life. Feeling overwhelmed by both work and personal pressures and physically being isolated from peer support, brings about high levels of anxiety, stress and depression.
Communicating and reaching out more often, is essential for not only remote working teams, but across the whole business. For leaders, encouraging an ‘open space’ for conversations and connecting with fellow peers is important to prevent them from feeling lonely and disconnected. Enabling employees to create an Allyship Foundation to build their connections upon is important. Leaders who actively take part in engaging in conversations with employees, in taking just a few minutes, be it in person or on a video call, to ask genuine, open-ended questions and to listen intently (Download our 'Take 10 Together' Tips for Useful Talking Together) will reap the benefits in many ways. Equally, leaders should maintain, and be consistent in taking part in informal, lighthearted and fun connections with colleagues.
Instilling trust amongst peers, encouraging open and honest conversations, creating and nurturing interactions between each other, will help to increase rapport and reduce loneliness and isolation at work.
Stand Up
Speak Out
Act On...
…offering the support an individual may need.
So, listen closely and read between the lines. Focus on what's NOT being said.
Ask questions to help clarify your interpretation of someone's state of mental health before jumping to conclusions.
Don't just be a bystander in your observation's of a colleague's change in behaviour.
Be an ACTIVE Bystander and Ally.
Addressing Mental Health Awareness and Loneliness at Work is a key programme that organisations are focusing on due to more hybrid workers and people working remotely from their managers and teams.
