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Not alone yet lonely

Loneliness is becoming a problem in crowded corporate corridors

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It’s said: Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Even worse is when you feel lonely at your workplace, your source of income.

Indeed, money can’t buy you happiness.

It’s over two years now since Abha Gupta joined a Bengaluru-based IT services firm as a finance executive. Although her job is seemingly cushy, providing her with a handsome paycheque, medical facilities and transportation; she is not content.

Despite having people around her, she feels she is unable to have an upfront and honest conversation with anyone. The team she works in is jolly, but there isn’t a colleague with whom she can share the varying emotions that she experiences on a hard day at work. Her co-workers all appear friendly, but are not her ‘’friends’’; with whom she can confide in about a tough boss, or a pressing deadline, or an unmanageable project.

This 'no friends at work' phenomenon has been steadily stifling her at the office, leaving her weary and emotionally lethargic. It is also quite a contrast from her earlier job at a bank, where she could not only joke with her colleagues but open up to them about workplace insecurities. Gupta has off late been contemplating a job change, maybe back to her previous office, the bank.

Workplace loneliness and isolation is a real issue waiting to spill over into a major problem at India Inc. Studies regard loneliness as a crippling mess that can upset the emotional, psychological and physiological well-being of an individual. Loneliness can accelerate stress levels manifold, say, experts, leading to disrupted sleep, deteriorating the immune system, and triggering chronic ailments like obesity, hypertension and skin diseases.

Says Kamal Karanth, co-founder of specialist staffing firm Xpheno, “Loneliness is caused not by being alone, but by being without some kind of definite and needed relationships.”

ePsyclinic.com, an online platform that provides mental and emotional health support through therapy and counselling, conducts 800 sessions a month in Bangalore alone. They have realised that over 60% of the participating professionals were undergoing work-related stress and job insecurities.

“If an individual feels there is no one at work to confide in and gain suggestions and advise, it can precipitate workplace loneliness,” says career counsellor Sonal Shah.

Karanth feels the increased reliance on virtual work, flexi-working, although beneficial in terms of time and commutation saved, can also result in an employee experiencing fewer opportunities for social interactions. “In many respects, the availability, longevity and quality of social relationships in the workplace are diminishing, leading to the demise of satisfaction with relationships at work. Corporates are more focused on productivity, competition, fast decisions and deadlines, and are less focused on the human element of the organisation, which then leads to loneliness amongst employees,” says Karanth.

Experts feel loneliness at the workplace can negatively impact the performance and spirit of not only the employee in question but the overall team as well. “Performance is enhanced when everyone works together as a connected unit. When individuals feel isolated, the coordination of the team suffers, leading to poor results. Loneliness influences an individual’s interpersonal behaviour, and can result in hostility, anxiety, etc.,” feels Karanth.

Certain corporates have started initiatives to counter social isolation and enhance cohesiveness. Landmark Group, which recently introduced the Landmark Happiness Movement, aims to create an environment “where people are the consistent drivers of happiness and positivity, driving connectivity and togetherness across warehouse and retail.” The initiative witnessed the roll-out of many measures to connect employees and increase social engagement. Says Nisha Jagtiani, executive director and chief happiness officer, Landmark Group, “The retail business is changing very fast and we aim to bring a positive change by empowering our people and instilling ownership, pride and belongingness within them.”

HR experts say companies are working towards making the office a fun place to be in, with employee engagement, sports, cultural, CSR and wellness activities thrown in.

“But less than one percent companies are actually taking formal steps towards combating loneliness per se. Some large companies do have counsellors or helplines which act as sounding boards, but it is an issue largely unaddressed by corporates in India,” says Karanth, adding that organisations should build a culture where nobody feels isolated and everybody feels valued.

WHEN ALONE IN CROWD

  • Studies regard loneliness a crippling mess that can upset emotional, psychological, physiological well-being
     
  • Firms are working towards making office fun place, with sports, cultural, wellness activities thrown in
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