Loneliness in the workplace has been found to affect companies’ bottom lines. That’s according to data published by the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness. It shows that U.S. employers are losing a whopping $154 billion every year due to people taking days off because they’re lonely. That’s 5 more avoidable days off per year than people who are not lonely. But there are some ways to turn this around, starting with company culture. NTD learns more about this from Ray Higdon, an expert on employee engagement and the CEO of network marketing firm Higdon Group.
“’Connection’ is not having a hundred people say, ‘Hello’ to you, or ‘How ya doing?’ without actually caring, but connection is knowing that who they work with and who they work for actually cares about them,” says Mr. Higdon. “‘Meaning’ is ‘Okay, what are we doing here? Is what I’m doing meaningful? Is there a purpose for me to be here?’ Those are the two things that people really need.”