Money can’t buy all the happiness there is in the world. As cliche as that may sound, several incidents are putting light on the same. Yesterday, a Bengaluru techie became viral for doubling as an autorickshaw driver during the weekends. The man, a Microsoft employee, engages in this side hustle purely to combat his loneliness. He is one of the scores of people who battle this feeling, all around the world. The number of lonely people globally has even resulted in loneliness being regarded as a worldwide epidemic. The phenomenon has affected people regardless of their economic class – a lot of highly-paid employees have also reported being lonely. Loneliness, despite being easy to define and seeming relatively simple, is silently agonizing people around the world.
Loneliness has been flagged as a serious issue by many
Loneliness has been declared as a “global public health concern” by the World Health Organization. This means that the phenomenon has gone beyond being a character element in movies and TV. The health risks that come with it are likened to those associated with smoking 15 cigarettes a day. There are various studies that show alarming numbers that indicate the severity of the epidemic. A Meta-Gallup survey records that 1 in 4 people have reported feeling “very or fairly lonely.”
The problem with loneliness is that it is very subjective, and some might not even know if they are lonely. It is not limited to introverted people, even very social people can suffer from loneliness. Adults, who spend most of their time working, are readily reporting feeling lonely. The pandemic is easily one of the biggest reasons for the growth of loneliness amongst the general public, who were confined to their homes for their own safety. Economic Times reports that at least 60% of Indians have reported feeling lonely during the early period pandemic. It also quotes an MIT study that shows in-person interactions are still the basic requirement that develops trust-building in humans.
Workplaces, especially tech companies, are the most common areas that instill loneliness
Recently, people from good jobs are sharing how harrowing it is to be in their position. These jobs come with a huge workload and little time to do anything else, which forces an employee to drain all their resources in completing the job at hand. An individual who moved from New York to Seattle for an Amazon job told Business Insider that he’s never felt lonelier. This was despite being amongst people which shared the same background as him. His work routine became monotonous and repetetive, and he struggled to interact with his older, experienced colleagues about his interests.
An Amazon employee from India too shared similar feelings, along with being overwhelmed. He says that he no longer “look[s] forward to fresh challenges and growth opportunities at work.” Surprisingly, this man was only 24 years old when he shared these thoughts online, and was earning 58 lakhs annually. His friends too, he mentioned, were all caught up in their own lives.
How the issue should be managed
Employers should first and foremost treat the issue in a serious manner. Employees have to be made aware that they are not the only people who are lonely. A work environment should be such that employees can foster meaningful relationships. They are crucial for mental well-being and ensure holistic development in general. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the work culture is not on a level that causesthe health of employees to deteriorate. Rather than forcing in-person interactions, employers have to find out ways to hold gatherings that employees will naturally be inclined to attend. Airbnb’s CEO grouped his employees into pairs, even within teams. This led to either employee having a support system, which is a crucial requirement needed to beat loneliness.
Loneliness is not very difficult to beat, but it is possible to come out of it by putting oneself out there. It might come across as seeming too bothersome to interact with people, and change one’s environment to something different to wat they’re used to. But it is also equally necessary to consider the gravity of loneliness, and how it can seriously deter one’s mental health if not addressed.
