Together Is Better—8 Quick Tips on Addressing Workplace Isolation

The complex ups and downs of the work environment today have made the mission of addressing workplace isolation a high-priority task. Employees spend a large majority of their time within the workspace and having a healthy work life is critical to their overall well-being. 

The overwhelming presence of work leaves little time for socialization, so even if employees try coping with work isolation by managing their lives outside, it can be extremely difficult. Employee isolation at work causes a wide variety of problems, from mental health struggles for the employee to discord across the entire workplace.

Finding solutions to workplace isolation is beneficial for the organization and the individual—it is critical for the employer to take the matter seriously and do what is within their power to establish a healthy work culture. 

Image: Pexels

Addressing Workplace Isolation—Consider What You Can Do to Alleviate the Issue

Employee isolation at work is a very serious matter. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report, 22% of employees under 35 years and 19% of those 35 and above feel lonely at work. Despite all of the supporters of work-from-home opportunities, fully remote employees report significantly higher levels of loneliness at 25% compared to the in-person workers who stand at 16%. Hybrid workers who get to enjoy the best of both worlds fall in between at 21%. 

At first glance, these numbers may not feel as high, but left to their own devices, the rates are only expected to grow. When an employee starts working at an organization, some initial moments of feeling isolated and lonely are natural. They don’t understand the inside jokes, don’t have a natural rapport with their team, don’t know how to spend their breaks, etc. 

It can be exhausting but for many workers, this phase passes soon enough where they build their own sense of camaraderie with their team, even if it’s only with a few of their colleagues. This transition unfortunately doesn’t happen with all employees.

Employees who are isolated at work can start to struggle with coming to work every day. Absenteeism will rise and they’ll start skipping on any events where they might have to socialize for fear of having to confront loneliness head-on. Their work will begin to suffer as they will lose interest in their tasks. 

Even if they want to perform, the lack of communication will make it hard for them to get a clear understanding of what is expected. Isolated employees will see their mental health decline and when they feel real challenges in their personal and professional life, there will be no way for the company to find out. Eventually, they will quit their jobs and the company will have to rehire again.

It is never acceptable to have employees feel isolated at work and employers need to do their best to ensure employees don’t suffer this way.

Workplace Isolation: Causes

Some workers fail to build a bond with their teammates, either due to their own reservations and flaws or because the organization does little to welcome them. Misunderstandings and toxic practices can stack up over time and worsen the situation. 

The longer the organization waits to find solutions to workplace loneliness, the worse the problem gets over time. Understanding the causes of workplace isolation comes first—addressing the problem comes next.

• Onboarding Issues: Improper onboarding may leave an employee poorly prepared for the job, and constantly at odds with the team.
• Miscommunication: Lack of proper communication channels and regular discussions between employees can lead to unhappy relationships.
• Differing Opinions: When employees can’t see eye-to-eye on topics, those with unpopular opinions tend to be isolated.
• Workplace Cliques: When there are multiple groups within the workplace, it can be nearly impossible for a worker to find anyone who will accommodate them.
• Remote Work: Working from home can be a very comfortable alternative but it provides limited opportunities to build connections with the team.
• Toxic Work Culture: A poor work environment where abusive behavior and inappropriate comments are permitted creates an unhealthy environment for everyone involved.
• Generational Gaps: Considering the range of workers who may up any workplace, the generational differences are more obvious than ever before.
• Overreliance on Technology: Organizations can overuse technology to the point where everything is an email and genuine interaction is limited.
• Mismatch Between Employee and Organization: If an employee has a vastly different expectation from the work culture but is forced to change to fit into the organization, they will rarely succeed there.
• A Difficult Personality: An employee may be very difficult to get along with and create barriers of their own. In such cases, there is little a team can do and HR will have to work with the employee carefully. 

Solutions to Workplace Isolation 

Coping with work isolation is a tall ask for any employee to handle all on their own. If the team doesn’t provide a path for them to participate with them, there will be limited opportunities for them to find a connection with any of them. There are many ways to help employees in coping with work isolation, regardless of whether they work remotely or in person.

A Thorough Onboarding Process

Establishing a good base ensures that sturdy relationships are built on it. During onboarding, encourage existing workers to interact with the new hire. Rope them in with some of the minor training tasks to give them some context to socialize. Later, check in with the new employees every once in a while to see how they are fitting in.

Regular Meetings With the Managers

Managers play a critical role in ensuring employees do not face any isolation at work. All managers should regularly schedule one-on-one meetings with their subordinates and do their best to establish a genuine rapport with them. A forced relationship doesn’t help anyone but the slightest bit of camaraderie can change how an employee feels.

Team Meetings and Discussions Between Larger Teams

Many employees work in isolation, seeing little interaction with their colleagues. Especially when they are a one-man team or department, they will often find themselves unable to connect with coworkers who fit in with their own teams and have their own private discussions. Create opportunities for different departments to meet and discuss how they can help each other out while doing their work.

Establish a Fast-Acting Conflict Resolution Process

Addressing workplace isolation involves creating robust systems where conflicts between employees can be reported and resolved quickly. Allowing negative relationships to fester is terrible for the organization and the employees involved so there needs to be a simple and straightforward way for employees to address any conflicts that arise between them.

Circulate Newsletters and Updates About the Organization

A large number of employees may never read the newsletters, but for employees who don’t have a network within the organization, it can be one of their only sources of information. Acknowledge employee achievements in these newsletters and encourage them to take an active interest in contributing it before it is shared with the larger organization.

Provide Mental Health Support and Benefits

It is not enough to send employees reminders to take care of their mental health. There are many ways an employer can help employees find the mental health support they need, starting with access to counselors.

These trained individuals can help employees find themselves and resolve the issues that are causing them to isolate themselves from their team. Employees should be encouraged to use their PTO days and take a break when they need it.

Review the Work Culture

One of the main causes of workplace isolation is poor work culture. Regularly review if there are any toxic behaviors and actions that have been allowed to thrive within the organization and address them at once. There should be no room for overworking employees and neither should managers and other team members be allowed to contact them outside of work hours. A strict system that eliminates unwanted behavior stops bullying and other negative behaviors from taking shape within the organization. 

Encourage Communication

When looking for solutions to workplace isolation, the best source of useful suggestions is the workers themselves. Create channels for employees to communicate their concerns anonymously and take their suggestions seriously. The more you listen to employees and address their concerns, the more likely employees are to feel a connection to the organization. 

Workplace isolation can take on many forms but they all lead to a downward spiral for the affected employees. Employers need to actively look out for any signs that an employee is struggling to fit in with their team and then take action to facilitate some interactions between the employee and their coworkers.

The post Together Is Better—8 Quick Tips on Addressing Workplace Isolation appeared first on The HR Digest.

Source: New feed