Bryan Bridget T, Triantafillopoulou Elena, Parsons Vaughan, Arseneault Louise, Matthews Timothy
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Occupational Health Service, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 May 20. doi: 10.1007/s00127-025-02925-0.
Loneliness has been identified as an important risk factor for mental health problems, and concern about its impact on workers' health and wellbeing has grown in recent years. While a body of workplace loneliness research is emerging, the degree to which existing definitions of the phenomenon reflect workers' experiences has not been investigated. This study aims to develop an evidence-based conceptualisation of workplace loneliness that can inform future research and interventions aiming to improve workers' mental health and wellbeing.
Semi-structured interviews exploring experiences of social connection, loneliness and work were conducted with a diverse sample of 31 UK-based workers. The interviews were supplemented with a social mapping task. Interview data were analysed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis. Social maps were analysed using a thematic analysis approach informed by a visual semiology framework.
Three themes were identified, in which loneliness was conceptualised as disconnection from (1) colleagues, (2) one's organisation, and (3) society. Across each theme, disconnection and loneliness were experienced as an unfulfilled desire to feel that one's authentic self was understood, valued or belonged as a result of one's work or occupation.
Workplace loneliness comprises not only dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships at work, but also a sense of disconnection from larger social groups and structures, particularly one's employing organisation and society as a whole. Definitions of workplace loneliness that acknowledge the role of the social and organisational context, as well as professional relationships, are needed to better reflect the lived experience of loneliness at work.
孤独已被确认为心理健康问题的一个重要风险因素，近年来人们对其对员工健康和福祉的影响的关注度不断提高。虽然关于职场孤独的研究正在兴起，但该现象的现有定义在多大程度上反映了员工的经历尚未得到研究。本研究旨在基于证据构建一个职场孤独的概念框架，为未来旨在改善员工心理健康和福祉的研究及干预措施提供参考。
对31名英国员工进行了半结构化访谈，探讨他们在社交联系、孤独感和工作方面的经历。访谈还辅以社交图谱任务。访谈数据采用反思性主题分析法进行归纳分析。社交图谱采用视觉符号学框架指导的主题分析法进行分析。
确定了三个主题，其中孤独被概念化为与（1）同事、（2）所在组织和（3）社会的脱节。在每个主题中，脱节和孤独感都表现为一种未得到满足的愿望，即由于工作或职业，希望自己真实的自我能被理解、重视或有归属感。
职场孤独不仅包括对工作中人际关系的不满，还包括与更大的社会群体和结构，特别是与所在的雇佣组织以及整个社会的脱节感。需要承认社会和组织背景以及职业关系作用的职场孤独定义，以便更好地反映工作中孤独的实际体验。
