Addressing loneliness in the workplace: Good for

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Addressing loneliness in the workplace: Good for individuals, good for business By David M. Cordani, President and CEO, Cigna (July 19, 2018) People who feel lonely may think they’re the only ones who feel that way. But loneliness is an epidemic across the country—one that needs more attention than it gets. Addressing it, however, is complicated because like so many conditions affecting mental well-being, people may be ashamed of how they feel. We need to talk about it more, though, because loneliness is affecting America’s health and vitality. In fact, feelings of isolation may actually impact our physical health—research shows that loneliness has the same effect on our mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to Brigham Young University professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad’s 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Aging Committee, further suggesting that we can’t keep thinking about mental well-being and physical well-being as two separate things. If we’re going to improve the health care system in America, we need to rethink how we treat the whole person—and this can start with how we talk about feeling alone.

Loneliness has the same effect on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. To better understand loneliness, its prevalence and the impact it is having on vitality in America, Cigna used the UCLA Loneliness Scale to create the first-ever U.S. Loneliness Index Report—a survey of 20,000 adults in the U.S. conducted in partnership with market research firm Ipsos. We uncovered a startling fact—a majority of Americans are lonely. Across the country almost one out of every two adults—no matter their race or gender—say they sometimes or always feel alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).

CIGNA U.S. LONELINESS INDEX

Most Americans are considered lonely.

More than one in four (27 percent) also say they rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them, while more than one out of three (36 percent) say they have no one they can turn to in time of need. Finally, and perhaps most surprising, the population that reported being loneliest is today’s youngest adults, aged 18 to 22, while the least lonely overall are the oldest adults, aged 72 and up. Work and loneliness. It’s all connected.

1 in 4 Americans rarely or never feel as though there are people that really understand them. Loneliness measured by a score of 43 or higher on the UCLA Loneliness Scale U.S. Loneliness Index Report, Cigna, 2018.

THE WORKPLACE

The Loneliness Index found more than half of us (53 percent) lack meaningful interactions during the day, which can contribute to our feelings of loneliness. And where do we spend many of our waking hours? At work. The study shows a meaningful connection between the workplace and loneliness, with the loneliness score of those who work more than they want over three points higher than those who work as much as they want. Meanwhile, the loneliness score of those who work less than they want increases by twice as much.

48.0

41.9

45.0

Too Little

Just Right

Too Much

People who say they work just the right amout have lower loneliness scores. U.S. Loneliness Index Report, Cigna, 2018.

Because loneliness isn’t just a problem affecting individuals, but affects our workforce, employers have a responsibility and vested interest in helping to find solutions. What employers can do. As it turns out, a lot. Loneliness may be felt by individuals, but it may impact a business’ ability to prosper. That’s why addressing loneliness in the workplace— taking into account that for many employees, their home office doubles as their “workplace”—is a mutually beneficial win for employers and their employees.

Loneliness may be felt by individuals, but it impacts a business’ ability to prosper. Because it is an organizational issue, it is critical that companies get an understanding of what the problem is and how it is specifically impacting their workforce. Creating a culture of connectivity requires a personalized approach—what works for one organization may not be appropriate for another’s unique workforce needs. But there are steps that all companies can look at—particularly to address some of the more ubiquitous things, like the issue of employees working more than they want. Employers can encourage a healthier balance by, among other things: • Providing caregiver leave, flexible hours, teleworking, job sharing, maternity and paternity leave and encouraging employees to take their allotted paid time off; • Offering employee assistance programs to provide a resource for personal or work-related problems that may impact employees’ mental well-being, health or job performance; • Providing discounted gym memberships to help people balance work with their personal health goals; and • Encouraging work/life balance among their workforce to increase productivity and mitigate burnout. Creating a culture of connectivity takes focus and dedicated time, supported by managers and corporate leadership. To encourage relationship building and interaction among our own employees, at Cigna, we’ve seen success with our employees by providing the above-mentioned support, but also going beyond and: • Offering a Caregiver Leave Program that provides up to four weeks of paid leave for employees caring for others including child bonding, caring for a seriously ill family member or qualifying military support; • Establishing employee resource groups to provide support communities for employees and better foster a diverse, inclusive workplace; • Instituting new ways of working, including an enterprise-wide strategy to inspire more interaction and connection with team members; • Implementing opportunities for employees to build networks through mentorships, onboarding partners and coaching; and • Encouraging cross-functional collaboration to help people feel a greater sense of shared goals. Businesses must take a proactive stance. Change won’t happen overnight. But given the extent and impact of loneliness, working to reduce it has quickly become both a business and societal imperative. Loneliness may be felt by individuals, but it impacts a business’ ability to prosper. David M. Cordani is president and CEO of Cigna, a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security.

Understanding the index: The formula behind the index involves deriving a score for each respondent based on their answers to a series of 20 statements and from there calculating a total mean score for everyone who completed the survey to obtain a national score. The higher the score, the lonelier people are.

For more information on the comprehensive survey results and how Cigna is working to address loneliness and mental well-being across the country, please visit https://www.cigna.com/newsroom/loneliness-survey. Content From

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