How quiet is my office? Why is nobody talking and laughing with me? Is something wrong with me? Why is it so difficult to talk to the people I see every day and spend most of the day with them?
Sounds familiar? Despite high potential for social interaction, many of us feel disconnected at our workplaces. Amongst tight deadlines, client calls, team meetings, we sit down with a cup of coffee, nodding to familiar faces and yet we feel lost, unable to share our hearts with anyone. Loneliness is usually perceived as a private problem but there is more to it, with loneliness and isolation coming together making it a concern of social in nature. This unwanted solitude can be difficult to figure out, as displaying emotions at work is not the social norm in a society. People are afraid of appearing weak, and therefore mask themselves in order to avoid judgment. Loneliness is also an effect of inadequate attention given to each one of the members who are working as a team. . By changing our perspective and letting ourselves be a part of the workplace, we can break this deadlock.
After conducting a survey on 672 workers in 143 teams, Hakan Ozcelik and Sigal Barsade concluded that loneliness led to weaker productivity, less motivation, withdrawal from work and low performance levels. More importantly, the study also showed that this doesn’t happen in a vacuum that “co-workers can recognize this loneliness and see it hindering team member effectiveness.”
Steven Miranda of Cornell University told the Fortune Magazine in 2014 that people who are lonely and disengaged at work deliver far less non-compulsory effort than people who have a support system or a go-to person at work.”
Finding like-minded people, valuing and deepening our interactions with our colleagues can break the ice and make us feel connected again. It can also help someone else feeling the same break their own barriers.
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”- Albert Einstein
Read more about loneliness– empty nest syndrome | how to deal with loneliness in college | cause of loneliness | isolation and loneliness | how to deal with loneliness
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