The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a shift to remote work that was already happening. But while people may love the lack of a commute and the freedom, they may also miss the social side of the office. A 2021 survey of 2,000 UK and US office workers by Kadence, the hybrid workplace software company, found that 81% of workers under the age of 35 and 64% of workers over 35 were concerned about loneliness if they were to continue to work from home full time. Other research has drawn links between tech-enabled distance working and loneliness. So, if you are feeling isolated while working remotely, what can you do about it?
Get outside
If you were at work all day, you wouldn’t just sit at your desk from nine to five. So don’t do this at home. Take a break and get out of your home office. If you live in a city or town, go to the shops, run errands, or get a coffee. Ideally, you should walk or cycle there to enjoy the combined benefit of exercise and fresh air along with small social interactions you may have. If you live in the middle of nowhere, go outside and enjoy nature for half an hour.
Set up social media groups
One of the problems with remote work is that you miss the informal chit-chat and serendipitous meetings you have in the office. So, re-create these on social media apps. The ability to make off-the-cuff comments and chat informally is invaluable, and messaging apps significantly reduce the barrier to informal commenting (an email, by comparison, is quite formal). However, you do need to exercise some care here. Unlike conversations in the corridor, many apps leave a permanent record — and, if they are work apps, they may be monitored by the company in question. Also, there may be issues around exclusion with private social media groups.
Attend Zoom or Teams meetings
As much as we can moan about video meetings, they do capture some of the feeling of being together in person. We can see our colleagues and read their facial expressions and feel to an extent that we’re with them. So, participate fully in video meetings and have your camera on, not off. If you’re entirely remote, you could even get together with colleagues informally with a Zoom social.
Make phone calls
The rush to video during the COVID-19 pandemic (and an addiction to messenger apps) means the phone often gets overlooked as a form of communication. But if you have sent a dozen messages or emails, really, you should be making a phone call. It can be far more efficient — if someone doesn’t quite understand what you’re asking, you can clarify what you mean in real time. But, just as importantly, you’ll be talking to someone and forming a connection. You might even digress from work topics and find yourself chatting about shared interests.
Don’t always work at home
Just because you’re working remotely doesn’t mean you always have to be in the spare bedroom. Investigate other options such as coffee shops, co-working spaces, or libraries. These will deliver an office-like experience. And if you go once a week, even if you don’t know people at first, you’ll soon be on nodding terms with other regulars. You’ll begin to feel like part of a network and community. You can amplify this by arranging to be in the space at the same time as other people you know who also work remotely. If you are using a co-working space regularly, you may be able to get your company to pay for it as part of your package.
Encourage your company to have meetups
There is no substitute for meeting face to face. But the good news is a little goes a long way. You only have to meet up with colleagues once every few months to improve your virtual relationships and make them feel deeper and more meaningful. A London Business School professor once told me that the reason real meetings work so well is people need to “smell each other”. This is very true — we are social animals, and we need to spend time in physical proximity to other humans in the group to which we belong.
Focus on the positives
The recent pandemic made a lot of people more proactive and self-reliant. Without having a boss in the same room, they became far more decisive and learned to trust their own judgement. Moreover, they learned to deal with small problems themselves and came to enjoy setting their own schedules and working at their own pace. Learn to appreciate this — set goals and focus on learning new skills.
Consider a pet
If you’re in it for the long run, a dog or cat can make a big difference — and, what’s more, they’ll never try to micromanage or take credit for your work. Studies, such as one by the universities of York and Lincoln in the UK, show that pets are associated with both lower levels of loneliness and reduced levels of stress. They can be fun in video calls, too.
Don’t be afraid to admit you’re lonely
Even though we have become far better at talking about our feelings and mental health, there’s still a tendency to bottle this sort of thing up and regard it as a weakness. Don’t. Instead, speak to friends, colleagues, and your boss. Talking and sharing helps enormously, and you may discover other remote workers have the same problems you have. Your company may also be able to provide you with help under its mental health policy.
Avoid overwork
One of the mistakes many people make when working remotely is believing that they have to fill every moment with work. But you don’t have to use the time you once spent commuting chained to your desk, and you can take a lunch hour. Measure what you do by work output, not hours put in. Use the commuting time to do things that improve your life, whether it’s meeting people for coffee, exercising, or spending more time with your family. Socialise after work, too. Go for a drink or dinner occasionally with local friends or fellow remote workers.
Talk to your company about coming in
Employees often ask to be allowed to work from home two or three days a week. So, assuming the office isn’t hundreds of miles away, why not turn this on its head and ask if you can “work from work” once a week? Loneliness can have an enormous negative effect on both your mental health and your productivity. If you are suffering from it, tell your employer. They are likely to want to help in any way they can.
Rhymer Rigby is an FM magazine contributor and author of The Careerist: Over 100 Ways to Get Ahead at Work. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Oliver Rowe at Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
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