We spend a third of our lives at work, and having friends there is important for our well-being, and for employee productivity, retention, and collaboration. According to research, even before the pandemic, 3 in 5 people felt lonely at work.
2020 has turned the concept of the office workplace on its head. Since the outbreak, one in five of us has made the leap from never working from home to doing so constantly, and a huge number of us now sometimes work from home. But working from home can be incredibly lonely. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, one-third of employees say that feeling lonely whilst working remotely prevents them from doing their work effectively. So how to make our workplace a place of connection, creativity, and happiness?