Solve work loneliness
Work in the 90s and early 2000s, meant hours and hours of time together, tackling everything from the hilarious to the illegal, via a sushi-hurling boss and a creative who overtook his “sleeping meds” at Heathrow.
For sure, some of it was problematic and things happened that no one would or should tolerate at work. But in the face of that stress, we bonded and the unintended outcomes were the kind of friendships that last a lifetime.
Right now, we have different challenges and, as I see it, a vicious cycle:
x3 as many meetings
AND an escalation of email and chats
BUT less true connection
Resulting in little enthusiasm to connect when we have the chance.
So while one in five of us is feeling lonely at work, 38% of us would prefer cash to a Christmas event with colleagues (based on my LinkedIn poll this week and a trend supported by more rigorous data). And no, getting everyone back to the office five days doesn’t solve it, see the HBR piece ‘We’re Still Lonely at Work’ by Constance Noonan Hadley and Sarah L Wright.
The vlog is about what it takes to break that cycle in 2025.
So what do you want to do with your colleagues in 2025? Or, more importantly, what do you not want to do?
Christine
