Home alone | Working from home is fuelling loneliness - how can HR rebuild connection?

Working from home has given millions of employees greater flexibility, but new research suggests it has also removed an important source of everyday social contact and contributed to a sharp rise in the amount of time people spend alone.

A report from the Resolution Foundation found that working from home accounted for two-thirds of the increase in working time spent alone among working-age adults between 2014-15 and 2023.

The findings are particularly striking among young people. Men aged 18 to 29 now spend more than two-fifths of their waking hours alone, equivalent to roughly six-and-a-half hours each day and two hours more than in 2014-15.

Young women are spending approximately five hours alone each day, representing an increase of one-and-a-half hours over the same period.