Hi! curable
Did you read the most recent US Surgeon General’s most recent report?? No? Just me. OK.
Well, it’s on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in our country. First I’ll sum up the problems: loneliness is on the rise in all age groups, it’s increasing mortality (risk of death) in those it effects – it’s equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day! – and it’s causing problems at home, at school and at work.
At work, employees who feel more loneliness or isolation (yes, remote work is contributing to this for some people, but not for others) are less likely to meet employer goals, less likely to advance and less likely to meet their own goals.
So we should care about this.
The good news? This is solvable, and many of the solutions that have proven to work so far – at the community, organization, workplace and personal levels – are actionable by individuals and often don’t cost much.
This month on The Resilience Think Tank we’re talking specifically about loneliness in the workplace (and I hope you’ll join us) but here in our community I’d like to talk about this with a human-first focus.
We can’t solve what we don’t identify, but loneliness can feel very personal, frightening, or even intrusive. So today I’m asking you – do you look for loneliness is yourself or others? And if so, how? Do you ask about it? Do you have signs you look for in friends or employees or colleagues or family members?
Comment, please. I’m counting on you to build this conversation so we can make ourselves and our people healthier.
All my best,
Dr. G
