Dec. 3, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Marsh McLennan Agency.

Guidance provided by Marsh McLennan Agency – your local insurance partner

When you think of major workplace trends, technology and AI get a lot of attention. But research firms also point to a different problem: employee loneliness. At first, “loneliness” might sound personal or private — something people should fix on their own. In reality, it affects performance, health and a business’ bottom line.

Measurable impacts of loneliness:

• Project Connect estimates that loneliness among U.S. employees costs companies more than $154 billion annually, or about $4,200 per employee, in lost workdays, according to the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness.
• Harvard Business Review says employees who feel connected at work are about 3.5 times more likely to reach their full potential.
• The 2025 Randstad Workmonitor found that eight in 10 employees say a sense of community helps them perform better. It also reports 55 percent of employees would quit if they didn’t feel they belonged — up from 37 percent the year before — and 62 percent hide parts of themselves at work, making real connection difficult.

Loneliness can translate into financial loss:

• Higher health care costs, including stress-related illness
• More absenteeism
• Lower productivity
• Higher turnover
• Reduced engagement

Team performance suffers, translating into lost productivity and diminished financial returns.

Loneliness affects people in different ways:

• Age groups: Millennials and Gen Z may be connected online constantly but report higher feelings of loneliness. Gen X and baby boomers often suffer more severe mental health consequences such as anxiety and depression, according to The Cigna Group.
• Income: Lower-income adults are more likely to feel lonely. Limited money and mobility, plus demanding daily schedules, leave less time for social connection, according to Neuroscience News.
• Caregivers: People caring for children and older or disabled family members often are “sandwiched” and report high levels of loneliness and stress — especially caregivers younger than 45.

Awareness is first step

Christy Westerman, an employee benefits consultant with Marsh McLennan Agency, emphasizes the critical importance of recognizing loneliness in the workplace.

“If leaders don’t recognize loneliness as a workplace issue, it’s hard to address. Many organizations don’t prioritize it or understand how widespread and damaging it can be,” she said. “Even employees who feel lonely may minimize the problem or assume the company won’t help. Recognizing that loneliness is an issue and demonstrating the company’s commitment to addressing the problem are essential for fostering connection.”

Why tackling loneliness matters beyond feelings

Promoting belonging isn’t just a feel-good move. It protects productivity, creativity and employee retention. When people feel isolated, engagement falls. That leads to poor focus, weaker collaboration and missed opportunities for innovation.

The 2023 U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community report noted that 50 percent of adults reported experiencing loneliness. Additional findings reveal the alarming effects of loneliness:

• 32 percent higher chance of stroke.
• 27 percent increased risk of premature death.
• In extreme cases, lack of social connection can raise health risks comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

Belonging creates connections and helps alleviate loneliness — increasing productivity

Employees who feel connected at work:

• Care about their team and company accomplishments.
• Show more pride in their work.
• Are more open to feedback.
• Make recognition for their work more meaningful.
• Feel as though they belong, which encourages respect, cooperation and a stronger performance.

Real connections can be built

Start with three core elements:

• Structure: The number and types of relationships employees can form and how often they interact.
• Function: Whether employees can rely on others for emotional support, everyday help and work needs.
• Quality: Making interactions positive, helpful and satisfying.

Practical steps:

• Building awareness of the loneliness problem by educating employees and offering individual assessments to help them understand how they like to communicate, work and connect.
• Foster connection and support networks by offering a variety of resources such as employee resource groups or establishing rituals that build connection.
• Offer a work environment that enables social connection and belonging by making it a strategic priority and offering activities like team-building workshops.

Creating employee resource groups are especially effective. They can:

• Build community and foster a sense of belonging.
• Increase employee engagement.
• Make work more enjoyable.
• Support personal and professional growth.
• Amplify employees voices, and encourage diverse perspectives.
• Support retention.

How Marsh McLennan Agency can help

Marsh McLennan Agency offers consulting and tools to help organizations build more caring, connected cultures. Services include:

• Baseline culture assessment with CultureTalk™ archetypes.
• Employee value proposition appraisal and design.
• Inclusion and belonging organizational assessment.
• Team-building and inclusion skill-building workshops.
• Well-being strategy support.
• Inclusive climate survey.
• Help establishing employee resource groups.
• Employee experience mapping.
• Leadership, team-building and inclusion workshops.
• Inclusive benefit analysis.
• Strategy consulting and implementation support.

Is loneliness affecting your business? Learn how MMA can help. Contact your MMA representative to learn more about options tailored to your organization.