The large, global health services company Cigna recently released their U.S. Loneliness Index, which found loneliness in the U.S. is at "epidemic levels".
The key findings include:
- Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).
- One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
- Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 percent) and that they are isolated from others (43 percent).
- One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 percent) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 percent).
The study stresses, not surprisingly, the importance of regular contact with other people. Key quote:
"People who engage in frequent meaningful in-person interactions have much lower loneliness scores and report better health than those who rarely interact with others face-to-face."
The data supports this, with loneliness scores strongly correlated with how often people have interactions with others.
We've written in the past about how coworking can help reduce loneliness. It does this by both reducing social isolation and creating more opportunities for regular interactions with others.
The social side of coworking is still an understudied area. Also understudied are the health and loneliness impacts of remote work.
We'll be reporting on some new research in these areas in the coming months.
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