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Is social connection in the workplace important?

By Kelly Oldham | February 4, 2026

I recently listened to the Economist’s podcast on ‘lone dangers: the physical toll of social isolation’ which discussed the health risks of loneliness. Whilst this episode primarily focused on the impact of feeling isolated from people within an individual’s community, it referenced data from the World Health Organization (WHO) report ‘from loneliness to social connection – charting a path to healthier societies’ which also notes the impact on employment as well as interpersonal relationships. In this blog, I will be exploring how a good employer may approach this issue to help to improve employee wellbeing and their quality of life by trying to combat some of the risks to physical and mental health associated with loneliness and social isolation.

What is the difference between social isolation and loneliness?

WHO states that around 16% of the global population (around one in six people) experience loneliness (2014-2023) but loneliness is considered a more subjective state. Social isolation is being physically distant from others (alone) for extended periods of time, such as being mandated to remain indoors during quarantine. But loneliness is a feeling. An individual may have friends, colleagues, family, or contact with other people on a regular basis but they feel disconnected from them or that they don’t receive the level of support or interaction they would like/need. Age UK describes this as “the gap between a person’s desired levels of social contact and their actual level of social contact”. Conversely, there are isolated people who can maintain a feeling of social connection and aren’t currently experiencing this feeling of loneliness. But, if we’re not mindful of the risks, it’s possible that they develop feelings of social disconnection in the future.

What are the health risks of loneliness?

In the WHO report, it states that the data suggests a causal link between social disconnection and an increased risk to:

  • Mental health. Feeling as if you don’t have an adequate level of social connection can lead to issues such as stress, depression, and anxiety. It’s possible that the early stages can be self-managed but may later require medical intervention or mental health support, such as counselling or therapy.
    Important: If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts, please go to A&E or contact a helpline with trained crisis counsellors such as Mind, Samaritans, a national prevention helpline, or CALM.
  • Behaviour change. Declining mental health can impact a person’s sense of purpose, drive, and motivation to take care of themselves. This may also result in a drop in productivity, increase risk of developing addictions, reduced physical activity, and poor nutrition choices.
  • Physical health. Our physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing are deeply connected. Experiencing a state of emotional or mental distress for extended periods of time can be linked to a decline in physical health, such as a compromised immune system, pain, inflammation, chronic illness, and even increased risk of mortality (death), with WHO stating that loneliness is linked to 870,000 deaths a year! For physical issues such as prolonged illness and pain, this can become a cycle that continues to negatively impact mental and emotional wellbeing in addition to contributing to undesirable behavioural changes.

Can employees build social connections at work?

Being social in work doesn’t mean being unproductive. It also doesn’t mean that if those relationships exist solely within the workplace, that they are superficial or don’t benefit the employee in some way.

Whilst ‘people management’ can pose challenges, especially beyond professional interactions, it is important for a good employer to recognise the value of social connection and create opportunities for those who would like to participate.

The importance of social connection can include:

  • A sense of belonging
  • Purpose
  • Self-confidence
  • Self-worth
  • Access to support
  • Improved mental health
  • Improved physical health
  • Stress management
  • Increased employee engagement through social connection

Creating social connection in the workplace can be as simple as trusting your team to manage their own workflow and creating a layout that makes it easier for conversation in the office. Our team has a “headphone’s on” policy so we know when someone is trying to focus and shouldn’t be disturbed. We also have quieter areas of the office blocked out, in case anyone needs this.

In addition, management could plan in team building activities inside or outside work or optional scheduled social events such as a local food market visit for lunch or after work (our team likes the Food Hall at the Stockport Market or Foodie Fridays at the same location).

Employers should help to educate employees on social isolation and loneliness and encourage the team to share what they see in the community. For example, the SG team makes use of company communication channels, such as a group WhatsApp or Slack (clearly labelled for that purpose), to share events, groups, or plans others may be interested in which often includes theatre trips, live music, gallery exhibitions, local festivals, Stockport events, and Stockport meetups.

How can employers make sure workplace socials are inclusive?

Whilst humans are fundamentally a social animal whose survival is dependent on strong social connections, being social is not easy for many people. In addition, if you’re considering embedding social inclusion into your workplace culture, you must consider potential challenges to attending social events and activities and how to make them more inclusive and accessible for all employees.

One best practice suggestion we received from Emma Myles at our Petty Pool training session in 2025 on Neurodivergence in the Workplace is to supply an agenda or clear information/instructions prior to a meeting or event. The information that you share should be tailored for your team. The below is not an exhaustive list, but your event brief may include any of the following:

  • What is taking place
  • The purpose
  • Time frame
  • Transport
  • Meeting location
  • How busy it might be/noise levels
  • If it is funded by the business or, if not, what the expected cost will be to aid budgeting
  • If there’s adequate seating/what type of seating (eg. leg room, size-inclusive, comfortable for chronic pain suffers, distance from stage/screen, etc)
  • If there’s stairs/hills or how difficult walking/standing might be
  • Wheelchair access
  • Lighting (especially important for light sensitivity or if there’s adequate lighting to lip read)
  • Any additional accommodations for communication challenges, such as sight or hearing impairments
  • Catering (eg. dietary preferences, allergies, intolerances)
  • Bathrooms/wash facilities (considerations: wheelchairs and limited mobility, invisible disabilities, nursing infants/pumping, unisex and self-contained or gendered)
  • Where applicable, reiterate when activities or events are optional (or offer alternatives, if they feel comfortable sharing their reservations)

If you have members of the team that frequently work from home, or are due to return after an extended period of absence due to illness or planned leave (secondment, maternity, paternity, adoption, bereavement, etc), you may also need to consider some of the strategies for combatting loneliness in remote teams that were effective during the pandemic and whether any of those may be beneficial to your team today.

 Ways we have found effective to help remote workers (or those returning to work) to build and maintain social connections at work:

  • Schedule virtual social events such as a regular coffee & check-in.
  • Making use of the casual communication channels on places like Slack or WhatsApp to have general conversations around hobbies, interests, or seek support.
  • Assign employees a line manager/mentor for informal check-ins to raise any concerns or to openly discuss anything that may be impacting their mental health and wellbeing. In some of these sessions, we have followed up with additional resources, action plans, or set up counselling sessions through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with a local counselling service.
  • Sharing wellbeing and mental health resources via appropriate channels.
  • Ensuring invites to in-person and virtual catchups and training are sent to everyone, including those on leave (providing the employee has requested/approved this).
  • Offering optional ‘keeping in touch (KIT)’ paid work days for applicable employees on maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.

How is social isolation being addressed in the community?

In recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been an increased understanding of the negative impact of extended periods of social isolation. It’s not uncommon to find local groups addressing this by:

Why a good employer should address employee loneliness

One week is 168 hours, which includes sleep (the NHS recommends an average of 49-63 hours a week), caring responsibilities, commuting, food preparation, housework, other demands on an individual’s time. A full-time employee will spend at least 35 of those hours in work. For many people, especially for those experiencing feelings of loneliness or isolation, significant changes in their behaviour or health are more likely to be noticed by colleagues and/or management. As such, an employer should make employee wellbeing an essential part of its ongoing strategy to become a good employer, whether or not they’re seeking a certification or member status with organisations such as the Good Employment Charter.

The evidence is clear that prolonged social isolation can have a significant impact on mental, physical, and emotional health. From a business case standpoint, this level of distress (if unaddressed) can have a direct impact on productivity, creativity, employee engagement, absenteeism, and staff retention which can lead to higher costs and reduced profits. But, for us at Smith Goodfellow, we feel we have an ethical responsibility to address any areas of concern that may negatively impact our team. This is particularly important if we can make any reasonable adjustments to the way we work or our workplace culture that would be of huge benefit to our employees’ wellbeing and help the team feel more connected and supported. We also, quite simply, care about them. Everyone is deserving and worthy of time, compassion, and dignity and it is these values remaining at our core that has shaped many of the policies and aspects of our workplace culture which contributed to our ‘Good Employer’ Member status and our Ecovadis Silver medal in 2025.

Do you want to learn more about being a good employer? Read how to promote employee health and wellbeing in the workplace in our Good Employer journey blog.

 

Kelly Oldham has been part of the Smith Goodfellow team since 2014. In January 2026, she was promoted to Operations Manager. You can follow her on LinkedIn or discuss any of the content in these blogs with us on our social channels: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Threads. 

 

 

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