While it may seem surprising—given the ongoing push by many American workers to stay remote or hybrid post-pandemic—many workers are craving support and connection, as the nation’s loneliness crisis rises. Recent research identified loneliness as a significant and emerging threat to workers’ mental and physical health. And, experts say, it can have widespread effects on the workplace.
In its survey, Loneliness in America 2025, Cigna found that 52% of U.S. workers report feeling lonely. The resulting impact on business is both profound and measurable, according to the Evernorth Research Institute, the research arm of Evernorth, Cigna’s health services business.
Among other concerning results, the research found that lonely employees are more likely to miss work, disengage while at work and/or leave their jobs altogether. This is creating ripple effects that cost employers in productivity, morale and talent retention, researchers wrote.
According to Jason Youngblood, who leads Cigna Healthcare’s behavioral center of excellence, loneliness is such a growing employee issue that employers ignore it at their peril. For example, 36% of lonely employees are looking for a new job, compared to 20% of their peers. Also, they’re more likely to miss work (35% miss at least one day a month) and show up distracted (42% report “presenteeism”).
Also on the productivity front, 63% of lonely workers say they’re willing to “work harder for their organization,” compared to 74% of non-lonely workers.
“Chances are, everyone has felt lonely at some point in their lives,” says Youngblood, noting that Cigna offers a guide for employers to help them reduce loneliness among workers.
“Work culture and policies can make a difference,” Youngblood says, noting that lonely workers who feel their employer supports a healthy work/life balance are 10 times more likely to have high vitality than those who do not perceive that support (20% versus 2%).
Strategize for support
To combat the negative impacts of loneliness, Youngblood cites some foundational strategies HR can help managers roll out, including:
- Encourage employees. Managers should take the time to share how they prioritize their own work/life balance, for example.
- Foster a culture of inclusion. Loneliness stems from a lack of belonging, even when surrounded by others. Youngblood cites efforts such as employee resource groups, team-building activities, and even virtual coffee breaks to help strengthen social connections and combat loneliness head-on.
- Offer empathetic leadership: The survey found that 19% of lonely workers who feel understood by their manager report high vitality compared to 8% who feel misunderstood.
“Those steps and others can build genuine relationships with team members,” he says, noting regular check-ins and relationships across teams are also important.
Finally, Youngblood says, employers need to ensure employees are supported with comprehensive behavioral health benefits and that they know how to access them easily. He notes that behavioral health benefits often go underutilized due to low awareness or stigma associated with seeking help.
“The critical idea here is to normalize and encourage the use of behavioral health benefits so that employees know where to go for support,” he says.
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