The Hidden Cost of Remote Work: Why Loneliness Deserves More Attention
Remote work gives people the flexibility to work outside the traditional office, and since COVID-19, it’s become a permanent fixture in many industries.
For organisations and workers alike, it offers plenty of upsides: less commuting, lower overheads, and often greater focus.
But remote work also comes with a quieter downside.
It can bring risks we don’t always see straight away like social isolation, overwork, and poor ergonomic setups. While overwork and physical risks tend to get the most airtime, the impacts of loneliness and disconnection are just as serious, and they often go unnoticed.
We’re social creatures by design. Neuroscience tells us that our brains are wired to connect; in fact, one study found that just 10 days without meaningful social contact triggered a “craving” response in the brain similar to hunger1.
Given that the average person will spend one third of their life at work, it’s not a stretch to say that our working environment presents a large piece of our ‘social pie’.
The Dangers of Loneliness
Loneliness isn’t just a passing feeling; it’s something that can impact both our health and our performance. It’s been linked to things like depression, poor sleep, dementia, and even higher rates of smoking and inactivity2. Biologically, it’s associated with high blood pressure and weakened immune function3.
In the workplace, lonely workers are more likely to take sick leave, report lower job satisfaction, and feel less committed to their teams while, on the other hand, more frequent social contact is linked to better health and overall wellbeing.
While there’s still more to learn about workplace-specific risk and protective factors, one thing is clear: team dynamics matter. Behaviours like exclusion or competitiveness (even if unintentional) can create disconnection, while simple inclusion strategies, like making space for informal socialising, can protect against it.
Fighting Loneliness at Work
Since the release of Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice for managing psychosocial hazards, leaders are becoming more aware of their responsibilities in this space. But with such a long list of potential hazards, it’s understandable that many feel overwhelmed.
So where to start? For something like loneliness, prevention is key.
Here are three practical ways leaders can reduce the risk of loneliness, particularly in remote and hybrid environments.
1. Create opportunities for meaningful connection
It’s not just about contact, it’s about quality contact. Recent neuroimaging research found that video calls trigger less brain activity than face-to-face conversations. In contrast, in-person conversations sparked increased brain activity and something called neural synchrony, a kind of brain-to-brain alignment that shows up when people are really connecting4.
This synchrony is linked to trust, collaboration, and shared understanding. In short, when our brains are literally on the same wavelength, we work better together.
The research in this space backs up what we already instinctively know – creating opportunities for meaningful connection are critical to team cohesion and performance, and the most effective channel seems to be ‘in-person’. Whether it’s team planning days, informal catch-ups, or virtual meetups with purpose, connection needs to be part of the design, not just an afterthought.
2. Address conflict early and with care
Loneliness often grows in the shadow of unresolved conflict.
When team tensions are left unaddressed, people tend to withdraw. They share less, protect themselves more, and connection starts to erode. Over time, trust fades and loneliness takes hold, even in a busy workplace.
Unhealthy conflict can lead to defensiveness, shutdown, and miscommunication. It doesn’t just hurt relationships, it weakens team cohesion and collaboration. Leaders who address conflict early, and with empathy, play a vital role in keeping that disconnection from setting in.
This doesn’t mean solving every issue. But it does mean creating a space where people feel safe to speak up, work through tensions, and stay connected even when things get hard.
3. Use humour to bring people together
Humour is more powerful than we give it credit for.
Research shows that leaders who use affiliative humour (the inclusive, light-hearted kind!) tend to have teams that are more connected and perform better5 6. In contrast, aggressive humour, like teasing or sarcasm at someone’s expense, does the opposite, increasing disconnection and loneliness.
Laughter isn’t just social glue, it also lights up the parts of our brain linked to emotional connection. It helps us feel good, feel seen, and feel part of something.
So if you’re a leader who likes a laugh, lean into it! Just make sure the humour brings people in, not pushes them away.
Final thought
Loneliness at work is a real and growing issue, but it’s not unmanageable. When leaders create space for connection, approach conflict with care, and keep things human (and even light-hearted), the ripple effects are felt across health, safety, and performance.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with connection.
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References
1 Tomova, L., Wang, K. L., Thompson, T., Matthews, G. A., Takahashi, A., Tye, K. M., & Saxe, R. (2020). Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger. Nature Neuroscience, 23(12), 1597–1605. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00742-z.
2 Cacioppo, J.T., Hawkley, L.C., Crawford, L.E., Ernst, J.M., Burleson, M.H., Kowalewski, R.B., Malarkey, W.B., Van Cauter, E., & Berntson, G.G. (2002). Loneliness and health: potential mechanisms. Psychosomatic Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200205000-00005.
3 Holt-Lunstad, J., & Smith, T.B. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352.
4 Zhao, N., Zhang, X., Noah, A., Tiede, M., & Hirsch, J. (2023). Separable processes for live “in-person” and live “zoom-like” faces. Imaging Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00027.
5 Carnevale, JB, Huang, L, Yam, KC & Wang, L 2022, ‘Laughing with me or laughing at me? The differential effects of leader humor expressions on follower status and influence at work’, Journal of organizational behavior, vol. 43, no. 7, pp. 1153–1171.
6 Yang, F & Wen, D 2021, ‘Combating workplace loneliness climate and enhancing team performance: The roles of leader humor and team bureaucratic practices’, Journal of business research, vol. 136, pp. 305–315.