Giessner, Steffen

Lam, Hodar

Shemla, Meir

English

EUR Research Repository

5/14/2020 Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis - RSM Discoveryhttps://discovery.rsm.nl/articles/431-tips-loneliness-and-working-from-home-during-the-covid-19-crisis/ 1/4Tips: Loneliness and working from home duringthe COVID-19 crisisFriday, 27 March 2020It is 15:30 and you just made yourself a cup of coffee in your kitchen at home. Then you thought, “wouldn’t it benice to have a coffee chat with my colleagues now?”In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many employees are forced to work from home and physically isolatethemselves from friends and colleagues. For some, working from home may drive loneliness due to the suddenlonger term disconnect from social interactions at the workplace. At the core of loneliness can be unmetexpectation: we can no longer enjoy meaningful work relationships.Why do we feel lonely when working remotely for a long time?Folk wisdom and research suggest that working from home can promote work efficiency. But it is this strong focuson tasks and performance that may make work less meaningful. Face-to-face work interactions, the opportunities togive, support and help our colleagues or clients can make our work more meaningful.By working remotely for a long period of time, we lose the vast majority of our spontaneous interactions with others.Also, non-verbal information from virtual work interactions is limited. For example, we can’t see a friendly smile or aworrying frown through email exchanges and instant messaging. These signals, however, provide strong socio-emotional values to keep us feel connected. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis requires us to keep any social face-to-face contact to the minimum. So, not surprisingly, feeling lonely at home is now more likely. Reducing loneliness These four tips can help to prevent loneliness while working from home:1. Engage in self-disclosure. Sharing your feelings and information is a powerful way to maintaining relationshipsat work. The more depth you share with your colleagues and your supervisors – for example talking about yourworries about the current situation – the more likely you will feel connected and authentic. But be careful;sharing information that disrupts the way others have usually seen you may backfire. Appropriate, ethicalFeedback5/14/2020 Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis - RSM Discoveryhttps://discovery.rsm.nl/articles/431-tips-loneliness-and-working-from-home-during-the-covid-19-crisis/ 2/4disclosure is key. 2. Create meaning in virtual work. Are you starting to feel bored by working on tasks in front of the computer? Byfocusing on the needs and feelings of others, you can add meaning to your work relationships and pay lessattention to thoughts and emotions that trigger loneliness. You can reach out to your colleagues, give somesupport or advice, and say thank-you to those who have been nice and helpful to you at work. Ask yourself andyour colleagues why you (and they) do your (their) work. This way you can create meaning to what you do.Realise and appreciate that you are doing important work – whether it’s from home or the office. 3. Think about the good-old times. Studies have found that recollecting the positive incidents helps reduceloneliness. The next time you feel lonely working from home, try recalling a happy outing with your colleaguesor eat something you might eat in the office canteen – our brains automatically associate comfort food withmeaningful relationships. You may also share these “old” stories and pictures with your colleagues on socializingplatforms – for the sake of nostalgia. 4. Know what your tasks are. At home, we get easily distracted. And if you are uncertain about your role in yourteam, you may feel helpless when isolated in remote working conditions. In other words, you need to knowwhat your tasks are and how they contribute to your team work. If you are feeling uncertain about your tasks,duties, and responsibilities right now, ask your supervisor to clarify your role in the current working conditions. Big picture takeawaysNo woman/man is an island. It is normal to feel lonely while working from home, as loneliness is a signal remindingus to stay connected. And we can stay connected, be it at the office or online. These tips were compiled by PhD candidate Hodar Lam, Professor Steffen Giessner and Dr Meir Shemla fromRotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), based on academic research.References:Lam, H., Shemla, M., & Giessner, S. R. (2019). Why do powerful leaders feel less lonely? Upward self-disclosure as amechanism to reduce leader loneliness. 79  Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management Proceedings.https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2019.10232abstractTroisi, J. D., & Gabriel, S. (2011). Chicken soup really is good for the soul: “Comfort food” fulfills the need to belong.Psychological Science, 22(6), 747–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611407931Wright, S., & Silard, A. (in press). Unravelling the antecedents of loneliness in the workplace. Human Relations.https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726720906013 Crisis-related Research SeriesThis article is part of our crisis-related research series: a growing collection of research-based thought pieces andopinions from RSM’s academics and researchers. Topics range from tips for battling loneliness to the ethicaldilemmas faced by managers and leaders. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSMprovides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based inthe international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is ondeveloping business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying theirinnovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executiveprogrammes encourage them to become to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers.Study information and activities for future students, executives and alumni are also organised from the RSM office inChengdu, China. www.rsm.nlFor more information about RSM or this article, please contact Danielle Baan, Media Officer for RSM, via +31 10 4082028 or baan@rsm.nl.thFeedback5/14/2020 Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis - RSM Discoveryhttps://discovery.rsm.nl/articles/431-tips-loneliness-and-working-from-home-during-the-covid-19-crisis/ 3/4share this article:      Loneliness , Remote Working , Working From Home , Tips , Meaning , Task , CrisisRelated articlesEffective leaders let their emotions showBarometer 2013: Cost-cutting mainexpectation from the New Worlds of WorkOrganisation  Lucas Meijs: What profit-making businesses can learn fromvolunteeringLucas MeijsOrganisation  Steffen Giessner: The merging of companies is the same asmerging identitiesSteffen GiessnerOrganisation  Why are we talking inside?Gail WhitemanAbout the researchersSteffen GiessnerProfessor of Organisational Behaviour and ChangeSee profileMeir ShemlaAssistant ProfessorSee profileHo Wa (Hodar) LamPhD CandidateSee profileStay InformedFeedback5/14/2020 Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis - RSM Discoveryhttps://discovery.rsm.nl/articles/431-tips-loneliness-and-working-from-home-during-the-covid-19-crisis/ 4/4© Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus UniversityWant to keep up with new content? Fill in your email address.Leave your email address here...SubmitFeedback

Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis

https://pure.eur.nl/files/56169463/Repub_126802.pdf

Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

EUR Research Repository