More meetings, more loneliness? The risk of 'forced togetherness'

Employees are struggling to connect with people at work, but forced togetherness isn't the answer to this challenging problem. 

A quarter of people across the globe feel lonely, according to an October Gallup survey, and the U.S. Surgeon General released a report warning that loneliness and isolation are now a "public health crisis." In the workplace, this issue is also prevalent: A survey by Perceptyx found that four out of 10 employees feel very lonely at work. While remote workers were the most likely to feel lonely, in-person workers were struggling with connection, too. 

Employers have touted the benefits of returning to work as a way to foster greater connectivity and productivity among their teams, but filling an employee's calendar with meetings and other workplace obligations — without considering how to do so intentionally — can actually do more harm than good. 

"I don't think employers are wrong to hustle people back to the office. But if they're not doing it in a very purposeful, connective way, it's not going to help the situation at all," says Emily Killham, Perceptyx's senior director of people analytics, research and insights. "Have we done a good job of bringing back good connections with people? I think the answer is no." 

Read more: Allstate's $10 million commitment to remote and hybrid employee connection 

For many employees, returning to work has meant "working alone, together," Killham says. Adding endless meetings to calendars, working in an office with the door closed, or attending a meeting in-person, only to sit silently, does nothing to reduce these issues. In fact, Perceptyx found that employees with more meeting-heavy schedules were twice as likely to feel lonely than those with a more open calendar. 

"We're all in the office, but do we show up and close the door? Did we get used to the habit of not interacting?" Killham says. "Meetings are not the way to build true human connection — being physically together, or being digitally together is not building connection." 

Read more: 30 days, zero meetings: One company's experiment with work-life balance 

Instead, meetings and other workplace interactions should have an end-goal or a challenge to be worked on together, Killham says. These can be projects within an organization or even volunteering within the community — any opportunity for workers to bond and work toward shared goals. 

"Employees who feel like they share values with the organization, or they're collaborating toward a goal, are helpful in staving off loneliness," she says. "We have to figure out how to create real connections with people that are transformational connections that actually bring people together to solve a problem, rather than bringing them together to share information and then send them off alone again." 

More connected employees in the office will impact life outside of work, too: Lonely people are four times more likely to struggle with poor sleep habits and engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms, Perceptyx found. While they desire connections with family and friends, they're more likely to lash out and treat these people poorly in their personal lives. 

"Loneliness is contributing to some of those feelings of burnout in their personal lives, and 90% have looked for a new job," Killham says. "Employers can help by fostering an environment where people are psychologically safe." 

Read more: A weekly check-in with employees can transform employer-employee connection 

Fortunately, it may not be necessary to add more benefits and programs that address mental health, or look for complicated solutions. Instead, Killham encourages organizations to turn to more well-tested methods that worked before and will benefit the workplace today. 

"Instead of piling on lots of new programs, double down on what we know works," Killham says. "Great people management, treating people with respect, building workplace connections and thinking about, is this a healthy place where people can cope with stress, and are we setting people up for a shared future with our organization?"