On 08 May, the UK government published fresh guidance with good practices for employers to better combat employee loneliness. The report urges companies to automatically include the issue of loneliness into their workplace well-being policies and warns that employee isolation, which has been exacerbated due to the pandemic and the upsurge in remote working can have unwelcome financial repercussions.
According to figures cited by the government in the Employers and loneliness report, the cost to employers of isolation and loneliness is estimated at £2.5 billion a year (€2.9 billion). This is because loneliness is said to lead to ill health and, as a result, lower productivity, increased sickness and absence, and higher staff turnover. The monetized impact of severe loneliness can be up to £9,900 per person per year (€11,523), according to the guide, written by the Campaign to End Loneliness organization with the support of employers such as insurers Aviva and Zurich UK, IT company Cisco, outdoor advertising specialist JCDecaux UK, and supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.
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