Conversations about employee wellbeing in recent years have largely centered on skyrocketing employee stress—and for good reason. Recent research found that burnout among American employees has reached a six-year high. While unmanageable workloads and ongoing transformation are often blamed for the crisis, experts caution HR not to underestimate the impact of another ongoing phenomenon: the loneliness epidemic.
Cigna research found that more than half of the U.S. workforce say they feel lonely regularly, a figure that is significantly higher for millennials and Gen Z workers.
“Sadly, it’s not a question of ‘if’ employees are experiencing loneliness; more likely than not, they are,” says Maureen O’Neill, senior vice president and DEI officer at legal technology solutions provider Consilio.
There are a number of macro factors influencing the growing loneliness epidemic, O’Neill says.
Societal trends away from connection and community—plummeting participation in churches and civic organizations, for example—are diminishing the external “social touchpoints” employees can access.
At the same time, employees are growing increasingly reliant on technology and social media, which have potential for driving connection but ultimately prevent people from reaching the “true depth of relationships,” O’Neill says.
“These outlets also can create impacts that make us feel even more lonely—bullying and trolling, negative comparison and competition, fear of exclusion, and heightened polarization and conflict,” she adds.
The “frenetic” pace of both personal and professional worlds, O’Neill says, also has many Americans feeling tired, busy and overworked, “which makes it harder to spend meaningful time connecting with family and friends.”
‘Bad for business’
The business impacts of the loneliness epidemic are well-documented. Cigna found that the issue is costing employers $154 billion a year due to absenteeism; lonely employees are twice as likely as others to call out sick, and five times more likely to miss work because of stress. The loneliness epidemic is also tied to higher attrition.
“Loneliness correlates with more absenteeism, reduced productivity, higher turnover and greater healthcare costs,” O’Neill says. “Building the business case to address the issue isn’t difficult—loneliness is simply bad for business.”
Fighting loneliness with a connected culture
The strongest antidote to the loneliness epidemic is culture, O’Neill says.
Healthy, inclusive cultures foster feelings of “belonging, trust, respect and psychological safety,” she says, which are foundations for meaningful connections and relationships.
Colleen Nerius, CHRO at Sacramento-based SAFE Credit Union, says advancing inclusion and belonging is a cornerstone of the organization’s 2026 talent strategy. It’s a “big piece” of sustaining a company culture where employees feel connected to one another and to SAFE’s mission.
“The more we build inclusion, the more we show our good intentions and have a positive impact on our employees,” she says. “They really feel that can contribute to the organization and its culture.”
3 strategies to strengthen culture
Leveraging culture to reduce the risks of the loneliness epidemic can’t just be an on-paper activity; rather, it takes tangible efforts embedded into employees’ day-to-day work and supported by leadership modeling.
O’Neill offers three strategies:
1. Approach connection strategically
Leaders and managers should intentionally ensure employees have both “time and space” to connect, she says. This may look like icebreakers before meetings, dedicated time for informal chats or in-person, after-hours events. Employee resource groups can be effective allies in this work, O’Neill notes.
2. Lead with inclusion
It’s up to leaders to “set the tone,” O’Neill says. “When they talk openly about the importance of community and belonging, they normalize connection and inclusion.”
3. Lean into storytelling
Cultural events, open forums and discussions about poignant, personal topics all “create space for people to share who they are beyond their job title,” O’Neill says, fueling a “deep level of connection” that can enhance culture and break down the barriers that fuel loneliness.
