Loneliness in Young Adult Workers

Sarah L. Wright () and Anthony G. Silard
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Sarah L. Wright: Department of Management, Marketing & Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
Anthony G. Silard: Center for Sustainable Leadership, Luiss Business School, 00162 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Loneliness is commonly associated with older people with the majority of research and interventions focusing on loneliness in aged and aging populations. However, loneliness seems to be on the rise for young adults more so than the elderly. Our research focusses on the experiences of young workers who report feeling lonely at work. We explore individual and organisational factors that may be contributing to loneliness, and comment on the consequences of feeling lonely at work. Qualitative data from 37 young adults from Western Europe suggest that these workers feel invisible at work, have a thwarted sense of belonging to their employing organisation, and often experience relational deficiencies due to automation and individualisation of work practices.

Keywords: loneliness; social relationships at work; belongingness; young adult workers; social disconnection; work practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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