If despite a never-ending pile of Zoom meetings and emails you’re still feeling lonely at home, a new study may have a solution for you. And the best part is… it’s already in your pocket.
Researchers from the University of Texas have found people feel less lonely when they have a brief phone call a few times a week. According to their study, if you can keep your calls going for 10 minutes, you could experience a 20% drop in loneliness. Lead researcher Maninder Kahlon says they’ve concluded that “people feel meaningfully better when someone connects with them on their terms, consistently and authentically.”
While this is good to know now, it would have been better to know about a year ago, since other studies show loneliness can be a real drag on productivity. When we feel lonely, we also feel less committed. This leads us to working less hard and to our coworkers seeing us as “distant, less approachable.” Add in the fact that people actively avoid lonely people because they think it’s contagious, and you’ve got a good idea why the working from home life isn’t for everyone. Source: The Ladders