Shailesh Rajpal – How to Overcome Loneliness at Work

Posted by Shailesh Rajpal on February 13th, 2022

Mr. Shailesh Rajpal says, “Loneliness is a difficult emotion to experience at work, but it doesn’t need to define your job. Whether your role itself is isolated by nature, you feel excluded by a clique of coworkers, or you’re just not feeling supported enough during a difficult time.”

Workplaces can be supportive environments for creating meaningful relationships, but even on the best teams, any of us can experience feelings of loneliness at work from time to time.

What loneliness at work looks like?..........Work can be stressful, and managing the health and safety concerns of an ongoing pandemic can make work even more stressful. Add loneliness in the mix and you’ve got a recipe for burnout and other mental health concerns down the road. Loneliness at work isn’t too hard to spot in yourself or others, because your sense of belonging at work has a direct effect on your output. Lack of work-life balance is a key factor for loneliness, so you may even find that you’re responding to (or causing) loneliness by throwing yourself into work more to make up for the connections you desire in other areas of your life.

On top of these challenges, historically excluded and marginalized groups are especially vulnerable to feeling lonely at work. Having to constantly code-switch to accommodate colleagues, handling out-of-nowhere micro aggressions, and feeling stuck while tokenized, and navigating ongoing discrimination in the workplace can place the structural burden of inequality onto already-marginalized workers, making them feel even more unsupported and alone.

Mr. Shailesh Rajpal said, “There is a serious difference between feeling lonely at work and being prevented from belonging at work through discrimination, intentional exclusion, or harassment. If you or a coworker experiences these issues, reach out to a trusted peer, manager, or your HR team.”

Work can feel uniquely isolating at times — but that means it can also become an incredibly meaningful environment to build connections with others. When you feel connected to a shared sense of purpose at work, and you feel psychologically safe and supported around your coworkers, you’re more empowered to be your healthiest self. Here’s how to build more support into your workplace.

Mr. Shailesh Rajpal concluded, “Loneliness is a challenging emotion to confront at work, but by giving yourself the right support (and asking your employer for more support), there are paths available to you through those challenges toward feeling like you truly belong at work.”