Published on December 16, 2024
# How to feel less lonely when working from home
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home was considered a luxury and something unattainable for many.
Then came the lengthy period of lockdown that many white-collar workers found themselves forced into, whether they liked it or not.
For some who thought it would be a luxury, they soon realized it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, suffering from a lack of social contact and loneliness, sometimes even when their family was home, as their minds craved socializing with humans outside their own households.
Research showed this affected Gen Z and millennials more than it did Gen X and baby boomers on average.
The older generation, meaning people aged 35+, usually had more positive reasons to enjoy and benefit from working from home. This included flexibility around family life, kids, doctor’s appointments, and other commitments and responsibilities that add up over time.
Below, we'll take a look at some ways to prevent becoming too lonely when working from the comfort of your own home. After all, those negative thoughts swirling around your mind will affect your productivity and well-being.
# Try the radio instead of Spotify
While the default go-to for your music is probably Spotify or another popular music streaming service, you could consider trying the radio instead.
The benefit of this is that you can hear the presenters talking to you and among themselves, laughing with guests, and holding polls. These all create social cues for yourself, and without saying anything, you feel like you are having a conversation with the radio presenter in your mind. It’s easy to do in the background while focusing on your work.
This can give you the benefit of feeling more social at home and reduce the chance of a negative mindset building up inside your head.
If you insist on a music streaming service—for example, if you can't stand the ads on the radio (I hate them too)—try listening to some podcasts instead. Spotify has a fast-growing selection of popular podcasts to choose from across pretty much any topic.
Music on its own can be important too, especially for deep focus work. Even music with no lyrics can help some people stay hyper-focused on what they are working on. But it's all about doing this in moderation throughout your working day, setting certain periods of time, such as a 30-minute block, to focus on deep work this way.
# Have regular meetings with your co-workers
It's easy to send an email or a Teams message to a colleague, but sometimes consider dialing in for a video call so you can save yourself typing out a lengthy email and also benefit from some much-needed social interaction.
Even just a 5-minute call is enough to cover what the email would have said, and you can also ask if they have any plans for the weekend, share a joke about something funny the boss did, or just grab a cup of tea together virtually.
This can leave you feeling positive and productive for hours after the call.
# Consider a hybrid approach
Another thing to consider if you are feeling lonely when working from home is whether you actually have a requirement to do so.
While a lot of companies have reduced their office footprint since lockdown, most have resorted to a hot-desking environment and kept a minimal amount of office space for staff to use on a rotational basis.
It may be worth inquiring whether you can attend the office once or twice a week if you find fully remote work a mental challenge. Most companies would be happy to accommodate this because it gets people back into the office and creates more collaborative opportunities among the team.
You could also see if it's possible to schedule coming into the office on the same day as your colleague(s) if you have a routine meeting booked, so it can become an in-person and possibly more collaborative catch-up.
It could even give you the feeling of excitement about going to work—wow!
# Get a dog, a cat, or a tortoise
If you live alone and find yourself working from home full time, consider investing in a fluffy companion.
A dog, cat, or any fun pet can be a great way to help reduce loneliness while working from home.
You can take regular short breaks to play with them throughout the day.
If it's a dog, you can take them for a nice walk at lunchtime to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air.
Even just getting a cup of tea and sitting in the garden with them for a short time can be a lovely opportunity to unload stress and refresh yourself, ready for the next work task.
Also, there is nothing wrong with having conversations with your pet, even if they don’t quite understand what you are saying!
Just remember the saying, a dog is for life, not just for when you're working from home. Remember that you may not be working from home forever. Your company might force you back into the office, or you may find yourself in a new role that's only hybrid rather than fully remote. Consider how your pet will be looked after if this happens before making that commitment.
# Dress for the office (almost)
Research shows that dressing for work while working from home not only gives you a sense of “work mode” vs. “home mode” but also helps to give you the feeling of actually “going to work,” which can help alleviate loneliness.
If you usually go fully suited and booted for your office job, of course, you don't need to do this when working from home, but wearing something more than just your favorite hoodie and jogging bottoms each day can help your mind make that key difference between work life and personal life.
# Make plans to have fun outside of work
Remember that just because you are working from home, work isn't everything. You are fully entitled to a personal life outside of work in the very same way you would if you had to commute into the office each day.
Having things to look forward to outside of work gives you something to anticipate and helps reduce that feeling of loneliness, as work doesn't need to occupy 100% of your mind.
It can be something as simple as planning a fun thing to do as soon as you close that laptop lid at the end of the day, such as going out with friends or family, dinner, or a movie night.
If you get on well enough with your colleagues, consider getting together after work in town for drinks and dinner, as long as people don't need to travel too far in and out to attend.
# Working from (not) home
Finally, remember that working from home doesn't always have to mean working from home. While there are a range of ergonomic and health benefits to working from a dedicated workstation that you've set up at home, the mental positivity you get from working somewhere new can be powerful.
Try working from a location such as a coffee shop, co-working space, or somewhere else with decent Wi-Fi.
A change of scenery and being surrounded by other people, even if not actively chatting with them, can really help with the feeling of loneliness, and baristas love to chat!
You may find that you can expense working from a co-working space once a week. Consider putting in a request with management noting it will not only benefit your mental health but also your overall productivity throughout the week.
Just make sure wherever you do work from, you have a good internet connection—either on reliable provided Wi-Fi or through a 4G/5G dongle.