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This Week in Wellbeing Matters…

• Studies Show: Explore the intricate link between loneliness, stress, and the hot topic of work from home vs return to the office

• Inspiring Inspiration: Jen Fisher, Deloitte's first Chief Well-being Officer, advocates in a recent TEDx talk for a new work culture where high performance doesn't equate to burnout.

• Readers are Leaders: Links from Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Gallup & a resource from the Harvard School of Public Health

Studies Show…

Loneliness is something that existed before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the isolation during the heights of COVID-19 brought loneliness and the importance of socialization for humans to the forefront. Similarly, mental health has also been a topic that was widely known to be an issue in need of addressing that has now seen more open and frank conversation as an area that needs to be prioritized.

All of the above is true about society as a whole, but specifically from a corporate/employer wellbeing lens, mental health is a big time area of focus, specifically on maintaining, improving and generally providing the necessary and accessible resources for employees to combat mental health concerns. There is, like most things in the corporate world, a bottom line benefit to this endeavor, but as someone in the HR/People/Benefits/Rewards space — which many of you, dear readers, live and breath each day — there is a deep understanding of the people side of providing resources and helping employees to foster positive mental health. Work from home, virtual roles and the growing popularity of hybrid work is a hot topic.

While I am very happy with the flexibility that my mostly virtual role provides for me and my young family, I understand virtual work isn’t for everyone. I also understand some employers perceive working at home to equal a reduction in productivity. Again, that won’t be true for every employee and employer, but it’s something that is out there.

Taking a different angle to the working at home/virtual model, I present this study published in February 2023 in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health which showed feeling lonely and feeling stressed are connected. And not only are they connected in one way, but they are connected in two ways because if you’re feeling lonely, it can make you feel more stressed. If you’re feeling stressed, it can also make you feel more lonely. One thing often leads to the other. So, when you think about work from home/virtual vs being back in the office 5 days a week consider that some people might be lonely having little to no human interaction in the office or at the client site. Like most things in life, there’s probably somewhere in the middle that is the best answer. Is that a hard and fast rule of X days in the office? Maybe. Maybe not. That is up to each company and their leadership to decide. But this study shows loneliness and stress are connected. Something to think about.

P.S. It’s possible for people to be lonely in the office, too. Just sayin’.

Inspiring Inspiration

Listen to a recent TEDx Talk in Miami from Deloitte Human Sustainability Leader, Jen Fisher, on “The Future of Work”:

Readers are Leaders

• Harvard Business Review: How to Speak Confidently to Your Team During Chaotic Times

• Wall Street Journal: What to Do About a Boss Who’s Pinging You at All Hours

• Gallup: Help Your Employees Cope With Stress

• Harvard School of Public Health: Repository of Workplace Well-Being Measures

What did you think of this edition?

Hit reply and let me know what you liked, didn’t like or what you want to hear more about. I read all your emails and comments.

Thanks and have a great week of wellbeing!

These comments are my own, not those of my employer.