Host Wendy Fong is joined by Sonia Aranza, Global Diversity & Inclusion Strategist and International Speaker, to discuss the loneliness epidemic and belonging in the workplace. They uncover the biggest contributing factors to the loneliness epidemic, the importance of a human-centered mindset, and how a sense of belonging is key to business success.
Host Wendy Fong is joined by Sonia Aranza, Global Diversity & Inclusion Strategist and International Speaker, to discuss the loneliness epidemic and belonging in the workplace. They uncover the biggest contributing factors to the loneliness epidemic, the importance of a human-centered mindset, and how a sense of belonging is key to business success.
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Monique Akanbi:
Welcome to Honest HR, the podcast for informed and aspiring HR professionals intent on transforming workplace challenges into golden opportunities.
Amber Clayton:
Every week we chat with industry experts to bring you insights, trends, and actionable advice through relatable stories from the real world of HR.
Wendy Fong:
Honest HR is a SHRM podcast, and by listening, you're helping to build a more engaged workforce and drive organizational success. I'm Wendy Fong.
Amber Clayton:
I'm Amber Clayton.
Monique Akanbi:
And I'm Monique Akanbi.
Now, let's get honest.
Amber Clayton:
Now, let's get honest.
Wendy Fong:
Now, let's get honest.
Hey, HR family, Wendy Fong here, your SHRM Honest HR host, and we're going to talk about loneliness in the workplace on today's episode. The World Health Organization declared loneliness as a global health threat and the US surgeon general declared loneliness an epidemic. As the days are getting shorter, we have less opportunity for sunlight exposure, which can negatively impact our moods. Seasonal Affective Disorder, S-A-D, SAD, it's a form of depression and that can occur during fall and winter months.
So, today we're joined by Sonia Aranza. She's global diversity and inclusion strategist and international speaker with over 27 years of experience. You can find a link to her full bio in the show notes. Welcome to Honest HR, Sonia.
Sonia Aranza:
Thank you, Wendy. I'm honored to be here.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah, we're glad to have you on to talk about this important topic. So, what inspired you to focus on the issue of loneliness in the workplace?
Sonia Aranza:
Yeah. I'm obsessed with this idea of making the workplace a better place to be human.
Wendy Fong:
Absolutely.
Sonia Aranza:
I believe that life is brief, we're born and we die, and we spent the majority of our lives at work. So, my son, a graduate of UC Berkeley, brought this to my attention about, as you said, the World Health Organization declaring loneliness as this global health threat. And I thought to myself, "Is there a connection between loneliness and work, since we spend the majority of our lives at work?" And so, I dug in.
Wendy Fong:
So, what are some of the main factors contributing to this loneliness epidemic? What did you find as you started to do your research?
Sonia Aranza:
Yeah. Thank you for that question. So, I want to contextualize it. I want to bring you back to March 2020 when COVID presented this disruption in the way we work and in the way we live. Right?
So, we all had to try and figure it out. We came up with virtual workplaces, we came up with normalizing, if you will, meeting online, normalizing remote work. And as a result of all of this, we thought that we kind of had it figured out, but it turns out that this thing that we created, the virtual workplace, and particularly the use of technology, is a mixed bag. And that this virtual workplace really presents us with a dilemma because while virtual work is liberation, really, for so many people, it comes at a cost, comes at a price, and that price is less connections with people, and that has contributed to this loneliness epidemic.
Wendy Fong:
So, basically out of the pandemic and our switch to leaning heavily on technology ... Technology can be great. It was a great tool for us to be able to still be productive in the workplace and connect online. But it sounds like it was a negative unanticipated result of that. Is it because there wasn't a balance of that in-person to virtual? I mean, now that we're slowly getting back into the norm of what we consider the norm and people are going back to the workplace in person, we're reading the headlines of Fortune 500 companies bringing people back in or at least having a hybrid work week. Are we seeing the statistics change on loneliness or we're still seeing it as an epidemic?
Sonia Aranza:
I think it goes back to a dilemma that we, as a society, haven't quite addressed, which is, how do we create workplaces where it's okay to be fully human? So, fully human to me means that we not just have a physical body, we have an emotional body. So, before we went into virtual work and before we relied so heavily on technology, we already had that dilemma. Right? We already had that challenge where how can we look at our employees, our human resources, not just as a provider of skills and services, but as fully human? So, it started there.
And then, when we moved to this virtual workplace, having not fully addressed it in the first place, this whole thing about being human, then it just sort of added to that dilemma. And these new workplaces that we have that are virtual, the idea of having this need for human connection has become more pronounced. So, for example, the whole research on belonging, right? So, we now know that belonging is an even bigger motivator for employees than money itself. So, when they're coming to work, just like you and me, they're coming there because they want a sense of purpose. They need money to live, like you and me. But even more important than that is this sense of belonging.
Wendy Fong:
That totally makes sense. As we shifted to these technologies, there was already this underlying issue that was growing-
Sonia Aranza:
Yes.
Wendy Fong:
... but it was amplified when we had to switch to fully virtual and lean on these virtual technologies.
Sonia Aranza:
Correct. Yeah. It became so much more pronounced. It's like the windows open, the doors open, and, oh, that thing that we needed to address, the issue of belonging, that thing which we needed to address, which I'm obsessed with, which is making the workplace a better place to be human. We had not quite finished that. And so then, when we went to virtual work and with technology just significantly lessening connection with our colleagues, with our co-workers, with each other, then I can understand why it became an epidemic.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah. And thinking about our cave people days, as I read about psychology and understanding more about the human mind, physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, a lot of the research goes back to ancient times where we were social creatures. We had to be part of a tribe to have that belonging.
So, how does loneliness ... And it goes hand-in-hand with belonging and work, it impacts organizations. You had mentioned your stat on how people will choose belonging more over salary. So, it sounds like it will impact retention and turnover rates if someone doesn't feel like they belong.
Sonia Aranza:
Absolutely. Employee well-being and business success, they're inextricable. Right? So, when we're talking about employee well-being, which includes belonging, which includes addressing loneliness, which includes making sure that we have a supportive culture, all of that has to do with business success, business continuity.
You think about it, right? Without employee well-being, what is your talent pool going to do? They're not going to give you high performance because their well-being impacts not only their morale, it's their productivity, their creativity, it impacts their thoughts, ideas, innovation. So, it is so critical for workplaces today, companies and organizations, to truly address employee well-being, because as I said, employee well-being and business success, business continuity, they're inextricable.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah, it goes hand-in-hand. And if that's a strong enough business case for leaders, especially, if they look at productivity and the numbers, it sounds like if there's rampant loneliness and not a feeling of belonging in the workplace, there'll be lower productivity, like you said, lower creativity, lower workplace morale, and eventually will have the negative economic impact.
Sonia Aranza:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And for people who like data, who like science, and I do, if you take a look at neuroscience research, right? So, neuroscience research tells us that when a person does not feel like they belong, when they are excluded, right? That region of the brain that's triggered when they are in pain, when harm comes to them, that is the same region of the brain that's triggered when someone doesn't feel like they belong. That is the same region of the brain that's triggered when someone is marginalized.
So, just think about this. Right? So if people are not feeling that sense of belonging, they're feeling excluded. And then, with technology, less connection, you're going to have a workforce that's not very productive.
Wendy Fong:
Wow, that's huge. So, your emotional pain triggers the same part of your brain that triggers physical pain.
Sonia Aranza:
That's exactly correct. That's exactly correct. And even more recent research tells us that ... And I thought at the first when I saw this piece of research coming out of the UK, I thought it was a typo, but it's not. Nearly 70% identify their boss, their leader, their manager, whatever the title is, but it's the immediate supervisor leader, as having more impact on their well-being than their own spouse or their own physician.
Wendy Fong:
Oh, wow.
Sonia Aranza:
So, these relationships that we have, the culture of the workplace, the norms, the attitudes, the beliefs, the behaviors, all of that impact us so much.
Wendy Fong:
It seems like a huge task for HR and workplace leaders or even people managers, since they have the direct and most impact to try to tackle this. But it sounds like with belonging and building inclusive workplaces is something that HR professional should try to strive for, to address loneliness, to help employees engage and thrive. So, what are some ways that HR professionals can start?
Sonia Aranza:
It's so important to make sure you invest in your human resources. So, what I'm talking about is when you look at our employees as humans, right? They might have mental challenges. And so, I think that while many are providing company-sponsored programs addressing mental health, I think now that we have to be more deliberate and intentional about that, right? Looking at our employees as whole human beings with an entire epic behind them, that we know nothing about, that shaped and inform how they show up emotionally. So, I think it's so important for HR to invest in those type of programs. Normalize that. Normalize the idea of company-supported, company programs addressing mental health.
I would even say that there are some things that are low cost that you can do right away, and it won't surprise you to realize that they're really something we should have been doing all along. And that is when we went to virtual work, when we started using technology, there should have been, and there should be an intentional, consistent check-in between leaders and the team members they lead.
So, for example, when you take a look at workplace surveys by Ernst & Young, which is one of the more recent ones, they say what they found is that, they say that employees feel the sense of being cared for and a sense of belonging when their leader checks on them regularly. Not just once in a while, but a consistent part of working with one another. Checking in on your employees, it seems so simplistic, right? But it's something that we don't do enough and we don't do consistently.
The other thing from the Ernst & Young research tells us that it matters also that the leaders, so more senior leaders, for example, really support the idea of human connection. So, let's talk about human connection for a little bit, because this is something that old school, so I've been around for 27 years, old school, they would say, "Well, when you check in with people, you should check in on their deadlines and the things that they need to do." No.
Wendy Fong:
Very work-focused.
Sonia Aranza:
Yes, very work-focused as opposed to worker-focused. When you're worker-focused, then you will eventually get success with the work. Yeah.
Wendy Fong:
Well, and it reminds me of where the roots of capitalism was formed, like in the Industrial Revolution where people worked in factories and they are workers and they had to deliver results. But there's this evolution, like you said, of looking at the whole person, we're spending more time in work, and how can we engage the whole person to make sure that there's a safe space, an inclusive space for that person to also thrive? It's like taking care of a plant. Are you watering the plant? Are you giving it enough sunlight, vitamins?
Sonia Aranza:
Yes. Yeah. So, in my work, the workshops and leadership seminars that I conduct, it has also transformed over time because now I really believe in this holistic approach. So, for example, the leadership classes that I conduct, it used to be, "What are the characteristics of a good leader?" No. Now it's, "Who are you as a human being? What is your epic? What is your story?" Because before you can lead others, you have to lead yourself. And how can you lead yourself if you don't know who you are? And how do you know what shaped and inform how you react to the people you lead if you don't know who you are?
So, it goes back to this piece again, of seeing the person as a whole human. We can no longer containerize what we do at work, what we do at home, what we do at play. We're an entire human, and when we come to work, that's who we have to address is the wholeness of that human.
Wendy Fong:
And to recap some of the ideas that you shared before. So, it sounds like to be intentional. Right? So, it sounds like maybe building it in more into part of the overall workplace strategy. And also, engaging people managers, making sure they have, whether it's appropriate training or resources to learn more about themselves, or to give them the tools to help engage more with their employees, not just from the technical work standpoint, but also from that human connection standpoint.
Sonia Aranza:
And I would add to that, develop the mindset, right? Because this is a mindset. This whole idea of valuing human connection, this whole idea of looking at our workers as human beings, that's a mindset. That goes back to organizational culture. Right?
Wendy Fong:
Yeah.
Sonia Aranza:
So, what is organizational culture? It's the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and values of an organization. And then, when I meet with people being driven by that mindset, that attitude, belief, behavior and value of human connection, before I begin on the deadlines, the content of whatever it is that needs to be completed, might I build in some time to say, "How are you? How are you doing really? Is there anything I can do for you?"
And then reminding people of ... Hopefully by then you'll have these resources available of things that can support them from your company. So, it's a mindset really. It's a mindset. It's the culture that you really need to address so that human connection becomes a center of that culture that you have in your organization.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah, that definitely makes sense that it's a mindset shift of the organizational culture coming down, right? Top down from leadership. Also, on the grassroots level, it sounds like the manager feeling like they are empowered to ask these questions and have these conversations because it's an organizational mindset.
Sonia Aranza:
Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So, you can think of organizational culture like the first organization you ever belong to, which is your family, your home. Right? So, things that happen there really shaped and informed how we behave. So, for example, in some family cultures or organization maybe children were seen but not heard. And so, everybody follows that, "Ooh, I better not say anything."
And so, you have to be very careful then about the culture in your organization. What are some of the unwritten and unsaid things that people are following? So, for example, if you have a culture where people don't openly talk about mental health, when you have an organization when people feel like they have to cover their struggles, then that is a disaster in the making. So, you really have to look at your culture to make sure that it's one where being human is okay.
Wendy Fong:
So, how can a HR professional or organizational leader tap into that data? How do they know if they're creating a safe workplace? What is the best way to tackle that? How do they know if mental health is a safe topic to talk about?
Sonia Aranza:
Yeah. So, you can go from macro to micro, or micro to macro. So, for example, back to the organizational culture, do you know your organizational culture? Have you done a cultural audit of the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and values that permeate your organization? Have you done that? Have you done a cultural audit? Have you looked at some of the things that are unwritten that informs how your people speak and engage at work?
So, you could go back or like that, like doing a cultural audit. Or, you can be just what we're talking about here, taking all of your programs and looking at it through the lens of human connection. Looking at all of the things that you put so much effort in and looking through it through a sense of belonging. Doing these programs, doing these things that we do now contribute to strengthening human connection. Does it contribute to strengthening people's sense of belonging? And then wherever the gaps are, you address that.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it will vary from organization to organization. Like I know in my role, I'm actually the only remote person on my team. And so, to address that gap of not feeling connected to the in-person team, I have to be, like you said, very intentional about connecting with each of my team members on non-work-related things.
Sonia Aranza:
Yes. Yes. And this virtual workplace, remote work, hybrid work, it's here to stay.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah.
Sonia Aranza:
And so, it's so important for us to be deliberate and intentional in the way we connect with one another. If you think back to Maslow's hierarchy, it argued that a physiological needs like a roof over our head, food on the table, a shirt on our back was the most important and fundamental. However, that's no longer true. More recent research tells us it's belonging that's fundamental.
So, since virtual work is here to stay, technology is a mixed bag. We have this loneliness epidemic. So, we need to be more intentional, more deliberate in the way we connect with one another. Loneliness is not only something that impacts people's health, it's really about people's lives. And so, their wellness, as I said before, is inextricably linked to your business success. It's inextricably linked to the continuity even of your business. So, we need to address it.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah. I just read a pretty staggering statistic the other day that suicide is the number one cause of deaths with teenagers. Because I have a 14-year-old daughter, so when I read something like that, alarms are blazing. Like, "Oh my gosh, that's so scary to hear that because that is something that is preventable." And this is the new generation, Generation Z, that is slowly entering the workplace with that burden of how can we address this to make sure that we're all healthy, thinking of the whole person and working together in a community and creating that belonging?
Sonia Aranza:
Yes. Yes. Yes. And it's so complex now because say with teenagers for example, and this is relevant also with adults, social media, it's addictive. There's constant comparison. I mean, if you believe everything in social media, even as an adult, you'd think that everyone else has an amazing life except you.
Wendy Fong:
Yes.
Sonia Aranza:
And that's not true. Right?
Wendy Fong:
FOMO. FOMO is real.
Sonia Aranza:
Yeah. So, I grew up in Hawaii and growing up in Hawaii, I grew up with a lot of rainbows. I'm based in Washington D.C. now, but the teachings I learned there are still with me. So, growing up in Hawaii with so many beautiful rainbows, we learned at a very early age that rain is required to create a rainbow. You need rain and sunshine. And that's really a metaphor for the human experience, and we need to talk about that at work, that the human experience is both rain and sunshine.
Wendy Fong:
I love that analogy. And it's true, I mean, how can you know what happiness is if you haven't experience sadness? Right?
Sonia Aranza:
Exactly.
Wendy Fong:
I don't know if you've watched Inside Out, one of the Pixar movies, where they're in the mind of the main character who is a little girl and she has joy and anger and sadness, all emotions that are in her head, and they all have to work together because it's part of their human experience.
Sonia Aranza:
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That's a beautiful example then of how we should approach employees at work, with that multidimensional view, because we have an emotional body, not just a physical body, we have an emotional body. And so, when we approach our employees, when we approach our colleagues like that, that these are people whose hearts break. These are people who have struggles. These are people who are just trying to provide for their families, and so many things going on. When we approach our employees like that, like a whole human being with rain and sunshine, you will be surprised at how clear it is when you look at the programs you set in your HR work. Like, "Is this human? Does this contribute to belonging? Does this contribute to human connection?" You'll begin to see through that lens, and you'll be able to serve your employees better and benefit your company.
Wendy Fong:
Yeah, absolutely. It's a win-win situation, because gone are the days, we can't separate work and personal life anymore.
Sonia Aranza:
Exactly. Exactly.
Wendy Fong:
Well, thanks, Sonia. This has been really great conversation. Your insights have been very inspiring and resources and tips and just the facts that we gathered in today's episode. Hopefully this will build a strong business case for leaders and HR professionals to take action to address the loneliness epidemic, especially as we enter these fall/winter days with less sunlight and we might see more cases of seasonal affective disorder rising in our workers.
And remember, HR family, just wanted to remind you that you are not alone. There may be times when we can all feel lonely. We've talked about the ebbs and flows, ups and downs of life, and we can feel isolated at times. But you matter, we all matter, and we're here in this together.
And want to mention that this episode qualifies for 0.5 PDCs. So, that's professional development credits for SHRM certification. The activity ID is 25-P, as in pumpkin, J as in jelly, A as in apple, G as in green, and N as in nut. That's 25-PJAGN, with the expiration date of October 10th, 2025.
So, before we say goodbye, I want to encourage everyone to follow Honest HR wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Also, please leave a review. It has a real impact on our podcast visibility. So, if you enjoyed today's episode with Sonia, please take a moment to leave a review and help others discover the show. Finally, you can find all of our episodes on our website. It's at SHRM, S-H-R-M.org/hrdaily. So, thanks for joining the conversation on this important topic, and we'll catch you next week.