Loneliness is on the rise worldwide – here are 5 ways to combat it

According to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report, 20% of workers worldwide face loneliness on a daily basis.

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Globally, one in five workers feel lonely every day, and younger workers are more likely to feel lonely.

According to Gallup Global State of the Workplace Report A report released on June 12 showed that as many as 20% of employees around the world feel lonely every day. Loneliness is more prevalent among people who always work from home and workers under 35, at 22% and 25% respectively.

We are living in the best time in human history—it would be one of the great paradoxes of our time if human mental health declined rapidly during a golden age of progress and prosperity.

Research shows that employee happiness will decline globally in 2023, especially among younger workers (under 35 years old). A Gallup poll shows that the global workforce is not only feeling lonely, but also experiencing increased stress, sadness and anger.

“The deterioration in mental health globally is concerning. Some worry we are spiraling out of control,” Gallup CEO Jon Clifton said in the report.

“It would be one of the great paradoxes of our time if human mental health declined rapidly during a golden age of progress and prosperity,” he wrote.

The study drew data from the Gallup World Poll, which is conducted in more than 160 countries and territories around the world.

“Work plays a central role in our identity, our social lives, our finances, our health, and our place and participation in our communities,” Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist at Gallup, told CNBC Make It.

“Our workplaces have all experienced changes since the pandemic began around 2020 — flexibility and physical distancing have had some unintended consequences — and it can turn into mental distancing,” Hart said.

As loneliness becomes common, finding ways to protect against it is crucial. Clinical psychologist Dr. Annabelle Chow says here’s how to combat loneliness:

Understand loneliness

First, we should pay attention to how we view loneliness. Despite the social stigma associated with this emotion, it’s important to accept that it’s a very common human feeling.

“Loneliness is a natural and appropriate emotional experience that everyone experiences,” Zhou told us. CNBC did it. “Loneliness is not the problem, the problem is how we view loneliness – if our view of loneliness is very negative, then our reaction to it will naturally become very negative, and then the problem will snowball.”

Instead, we should take a “healthy, balanced and neutral approach” so that we can manage this feeling more effectively.

We should try to find the source of our feelings. Do we lack enough interaction on a daily basis? Or that despite being surrounded by many people, we don’t feel seen, understood or appreciated? Understanding this will help determine next steps, she said.

meaningful connection

“Meaningful connections are a happy life,” Zhou said. Without this, people would naturally feel lonely, even with all the comforts in the world.

If a person feels a lack of social interaction, Zhou recommends making an effort to build meaningful relationships with friends and colleagues. Attend office parties, be open to people, and put yourself in situations where you can connect with people.

“If we don’t give people a chance to get to know us, if you don’t interact with people, then we actually don’t give ourselves a chance to develop relationships. If we don’t develop those relationships, — we have nothing left to have in difficult times. Learn from.

It’s also important to develop different types of friends. Have party friends, work friends and “heart-to-heart” friends and combine them, she says, to develop a sense of knowing which friend to reach out to when.

Developing these relationships ahead of time will help cope with loneliness.

healthy habits

“If I spend the whole weekend sitting on the couch doing nothing but doom and gloom, once you get past the well-rested stage, you’re naturally going to feel lonely,” Zhou said.

However, developing healthy habits and routines will help you escape from these situations. “If you build regular activities into your schedule, such as a yoga class, that routine can help you eliminate those times that exacerbate feelings of loneliness,” she says.

cognitive restructuring

Sometimes feelings of loneliness can stem from our own projections.

“Many of my patients experience loneliness, and when we talk about it in depth, (we realize) they have preconceived ideas about how people view them, which may or may not be true, but then they make their own version of it. They think people will think of them,” Zhou said.

“For example, if I think you don’t like me, that may or may not be true, but – I’ll become a little more careful, a little more defensive – and the natural result is that your relationship is less likely to blossom. ,”she says.

The way to solve this problem, Zhou says, is to challenge and restructure your thinking. Don’t just carry the burden of assumptions, but have an honest conversation.

environmental change

“One piece of advice I often give is to get yourself out of an environment that makes you feel lonely,” Zhou said. “If I’m cooped up in my bedroom all day and feel really lonely, my immediate action is to get out of my room.”

If you’ve been lying down all day, you should do the “opposite motion,” Zhou says. Go for a walk, or join a fitness class on YouTube. If you’re quarantined all day, it can be helpful to call family, have lunch with friends or interact with them on social media, Zhou said.

“Water is an amazing miracle worker — so it can be a bath, it can be jumping in the pool, getting in the jacuzzi, taking a bath, giving yourself a drink, (just) some kind of self-care,” said Zhou.

Many times, taking action in a lonely moment can help dispel the feeling.