How Workplace Loneliness Impacts Mental Health

Water-water everywhere and not a single drop to drink. That’s exactly what most modern employees feel in today’s working environment. They are surrounded by individuals who work similar functions to them, have similar backgrounds, and even share projects or working spaces, yet find themselves alone. The modern workplace, with its fancy technology, ergonomic spaces and functional design, has optimised the working environment for employees but caused great rifts in personal connection.

Today, one in five employees worldwide feels a sense of social isolation and loneliness regarding their workplace environment (Pendell, 2024). With the rising epidemic of workplace loneliness, employees across the globe have an added stressor in their lives. The following article aims to explore the pervasive feeling of workplace loneliness using psychological theories and to understand the toll it has on mental well-being. 

Read More: Modern Day Workplaces and Dehumanization

Understanding Workplace Loneliness

Workplace loneliness is defined as the feeling that one’s social needs are not being met in the working environment, which leads to a detrimental impact on critical outcomes such as performance (Ozcelik & Barsade, 2018). It goes beyond simply having no one to talk to and focuses on a pervasive feeling of being unsupported, invisible, and disconnected, even when surrounded by colleagues and like-minded individuals.

Workplace loneliness can be a result of both physical isolation, which occurs in hybrid or work-from-home situations or emotional isolation. It essentially creates a gap in connections between the employees, which can have adverse effects on both employees and the organisational culture. Several reasons and factors contribute to the workplace loneliness epidemic:

• Constant organisational changes that restructure the employee’s position and working environments.
• Intensive workloads leave employees with minimal time to collaborate and engage.
• Flexible working arrangements that offer hybrid and remote working options.
• Organisational cultures that do not value employee connection.
• Cultures that value competition over collaboration. 
• Corrupt hierarchies and power dynamics.

Read More: The Psychology of Workplace Belonging: Driving Engagement & Productivity in Hybrid Workplaces

Psychological Theories Explaining Workplace Loneliness

The study of the mind and its various theories can help shed insight into the impacts of workplace loneliness on an individual’s mental health. Several psychological theories, as mentioned below, explain the detrimental impact of workplace loneliness on mental health:

1. Self-Determination Theory

Developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan,  the self-determination theory provides a framework that explains human motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature, that depends upon conditions which support the individual’s experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness regarding the activity (Theory – selfdeterminationtheory.org, n.d.).

According to the self-determination theory, it is important for an individual to feel a certain sense of control (autonomy), ability to perform well (competence) and related to the goal or outcome (relatedness) to be motivated to complete it. In the case of workplace loneliness, an employee will not feel a sense of relatedness and will experience exclusion or feelings of being unsupported.

The lack of relatedness, according to the theory, will reduce an individual’s job satisfaction, and we can see that they have intrinsic motivation towards their occupation (Wax et al., 2022). They may even experience heightened levels of job stress, which may manifest as mental health struggles in the future.

2. Hierarchy of Needs

According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,  an individual’s journey towards self-actualisation requires basic psychological and physical needs to be met (McLeod, 2025). The third need at the base of the hierarchy is love and belonging, which is crucial for the emotional well-being of an individual (McLeod, 2025). However, in the case of workplace loneliness, an employee will remain unfulfilled in this level of need, which essentially hinders their ability to self-actualise and lowers productivity. It will also manifest as low self-esteem and lowered motivation.

3. Social Support as a Buffer

Also known as the buffering hypothesis, given by Cohen and Wills, it suggests that social support often acts as a buffer protecting individuals from the effects of stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In the workplace environment, where stressors are easily found, social support can act as a strong protective buffer against the impact of stress. However, with workplace loneliness, this buffer is essentially removed, leaving employees alone to face stresses and deal with its impact. Workplace loneliness will, in turn, act as an additional stressor for the employee as well.

Read More: The Social Buffering Hypothesis: How Support Systems Protect Us from Stress 

The Impact of Workplace Loneliness

Multiple psychological theories suggest the causes behind the detrimental impact of workplace loneliness on the mental health of employees. The following section aims to focus on the impact of such pervasive feelings of isolation:

1. Stress

When employees feel isolated and lonely, their bodies respond to such stress, along with the basic work stress, is exaggerated, leading to high levels of anxiety and worry. It can send the body into a constant state of stress, which cannot only overwhelm the body, but also the mind. In totality, this will increase feelings of helplessness and reduce an individual’s productivity (Jung et al., 2022).

2. Deterioration of Mental Health

Chronic feelings of loneliness can instigate a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and even addiction. Feeling isolated in the workplace may, over time, contribute to a decline in mental well-being and increase the risk of psychiatric ailments (Mushtaq, Shoib, Shah, & Mushtaq, 2014).

3. Low Self-Esteem

For an individual to feel confident in themselves, they often rely upon their social support systems and group memberships according to the Social Identity Theory (McLeod, 2023). However, when employees face workplace loneliness, their self-image will be watered down, leading to lower self-esteem. It may also reinforce feelings of inadequacy and failure. 

4. Emotional Exhaustion

Since the workplace is considered stressful by its nature, social support provided within such an environment constitutes a way for the individual to de-stress and relax. Workplace and social loneliness will render employees unable to process or share workplace stress, which will contribute to their emotional exhaustion. As time progresses, the feelings of fatigue will increase, which, if left unheeded, will develop into cynicism and frustration, identifiers of burnout.

5. Withdrawal and Reduced Productivity

Workplace alienation will thus give rise to a feeling of detachment in employees from their work, thereby causing withdrawal, especially in work situations where cooperation is desired. The sense of alienation from their work will thus result in a decrease in productive activity by them and in diminished concentration toward it.

Read More: Impact of Irregular Shift Patterns on Mental Health Care Workers’ Well-Being

Solutions to Workplace Loneliness

We must understand the influence of workplace loneliness to be undivided and endless. It essentially turns into a self-perpetuating loop where an individual’s motivation and self-esteem are dipped, as this has harmful effects on their well-being and mental health. As a compound effect, this alienates an individual, which increases the feeling of isolation. Workplace loneliness must be rectified immediately in order to address it.

1. Employers can ensure that connections are formed despite geographical restraints and flexible work environments by dedicating time towards it.
2. Apart from collaborating on work, team members can engage in team-building activities, which help them develop friendships and connections.
3. When employers suspect that certain employees are facing isolation, they can take meaningful action and engage in conversation with them.
4. Onboarding processes in the workplace can dedicate time to help an individual adjust to the new working culture and foster connections
5. Individuals who are new to the working environment can be assisted by their hiring managers to feel welcomed in the environment.
6. Team lunches and festivities can be celebrated in bigger groups, which allow individuals to interact and bond with one another.
7. The organisational culture must value collaboration and cohesive effort more than competition
8. A mentorship program or body system can be implemented to lessen workplace loneliness.

These are just some of the multiple solutions that can be undertaken by both employees and employers to break the cycle of workplace loneliness. 

Read More: Work-Life Balance Obsession in Gen Z: Causes and Psychological Effects  

Conclusion

Feeling alone in a crowd is not a pleasant experience, but one that is experienced daily by many employees across the world. The epidemic of workplace loneliness has a pervasive impact on the well-being of employees. Psychological theories such as the Self-Determination Theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provide a foundation to understand the impact of workplace loneliness on an individual’s mental health. Its impact spreads far and wide, and often perpetuates a never-ending cycle. If left unaddressed, workplace loneliness can be a silent killer of organisations and workplace culture.

FAQs

1. Is workplace loneliness the same as being alone in the workplace?

No. Being alone and experiencing loneliness are two different experiences. Being alone can be a choice or a temporary situation where an individual still feels supported and engaged with others. However, experiencing workplace loneliness is feeling unheard, invisible and disconnected in the social setting. 

2. Can workplace loneliness have an impact on an individual’s physical health?

Yes, workplace loneliness can have an impact on physical health as well. It may not be direct, as it extends to levels of burnout, exhaustion, and heightened stress, which are linked to physical impacts. Studies have also suggested that loneliness is linked to lower immunity, increased blood pressure, and cardiovascular problems.

3. Is remote and hybrid working the only reason for workplace loneliness?

Remote and hybrid working, which are essentially forms of flexible working schedules, are not the only reasons for workplace loneliness. There are a multitude of other factors that can contribute towards workplace loneliness. However, due to remote and hybrid working, the epidemic of workplace loneliness has increased because the geographical space between employees has increased, making it difficult to form meaningful connections.