How to Combat Loneliness in the Workplace如何对抗职场孤独感

Twice each month， executives at the dating app company Hinge gather for a team meeting. But rather than dive into discussions about metrics or revenue， they begin by simply talking.

约会应用程序“铰链”公司的高管们每月举行两次团队会议。但他们并不会一开始就深入探讨业绩指标或收益情况，而是先进行简单的交流。

For the first 30 minutes of the two-hour meeting， these coworkers reveal hopes and anxieties—what they worry about， what they’re grateful for， what they’re feeling. Even at a company focused on connecting people， forging real relationships in the workplace takes effort， Hinge CEO Justin McLeod told an audience at the South by Southwest Conference1. He was co-presenting at the event with Ann Shoket， whose initiative to combat workplace loneliness is called “10 Minutes to Togetherness.”

在时长两小时的会议的前30分钟，这些同事会分享自己的希望与焦虑，比如他们担心的事情、感激的事情以及当下的感受。“铰链”的首席执行官贾斯廷·麦克劳德在西南偏南大会上向一位观众表示，即便在一家专注于人际连接的公司，在职场建立真实的关系也并非易事。他与安·肖克特共同出席了该活动，安发起了一项名为“十分钟心意联通”的倡议，旨在对抗职场孤独感。

As America navigates what Surgeon General Vivek Murthy described last year as a loneliness epidemic， employers and employees across the country are trying to address what for many people is a lack of real friendships at work.

去年，美国医务总监维韦克·穆尔蒂称美国正在经历一种“孤独流行病”，全国各地的雇主和员工都在努力解决许多人在工作中缺乏真正友谊的问题。

Remote meetings of “little heads in squares”

“方框里的小脑袋”的远程会议

The problem of loneliness has been bubbling for decades; Robert D. Putnam documented it in his groundbreaking book “Bowling Alone” nearly a quarter-century ago. Remote work has only intensified the problem， for extroverts and introverts alike， says leadership expert Michael Bungay Stanier， author of “How to Work with （Almost） Anyone.”

孤独问题已经持续酝酿了几十年；大约在25年前，罗伯特·D. 帕特南在其开创性著作《独自打保龄》中就提到了这一点。领导力专家、《如何与（几乎）所有人共事》的作者迈克尔·邦盖·斯塔尼尔表示，远程工作只会加剧这个问题，对内向者和外向者都是如此。

“People have this desire to be seen and be heard，” Bungay Stanier says， but on video calls， the group gets right to the business at hand rather than having the natural， informal interactions of a real room. It reduces people to “little heads in squares.”

“人们渴望被看见、被倾听。”邦盖·斯塔尼尔说，但在视频通话中，团队会直接进入正题，而不是像在真实房间里那样进行自然、非正式的互动。这把人简化成了“方框里的小脑袋”。

It’s not easy to talk about this lack of friendship at work “because it feels like a shameful confession，” Bungay Stanier says. But his clients are beginning to bring up the subject.

谈论工作中缺乏友谊的问题并不容易，“因为这说出来感觉很丢人。”邦盖·斯塔尼尔说。但他的客户已经开始提出这个话题。

Awkward as it may be， these are conversations worth having， according to psychology professor Laurie Santos， creator of Yale University’s well-known class “The Science of Well Being.”

耶鲁大学著名课程“幸福的科学”创始人、心理学教授劳丽·桑托斯认为，尽管可能有些尴尬，但这些对话值得进行。

At-work friendships are good for employers， too

职场友谊对雇主也有益

In her own presentation at South by Southwest， Santos cited research that showed workplace friendships and a sense of belonging are vital to employees’ happiness—and companies’ success.

桑托斯在西南偏南大会上发表演讲时引用了一些研究结果指出，职场友谊和归属感对员工的幸福感以及公司的成功至关重要。

We assume that friendships at work are “a nice-to-have， not a need-to-have，” she said.

她说，我们通常认为职场友谊“有固然好，但非必需”。

But “maybe one of the reasons we’re all so disengaged at work， maybe one of the reasons ‘quiet quitting’ seems so appealing， is that we’re actively not investing in the thing that might matter the most for our happiness at work， which is our connection with other people，” Santos said.

但桑托斯还提到，“或许我们在工作中如此消极怠工、‘在职躺平’看起来如此诱人的原因之一，是我们没有积极投入到对职场幸福感最重要的事情上，那就是我们与他人的联系”。

New spaces， new programs and “casual collisions”

新空间、新项目与“偶遇”

Some large companies began paying more attention to employee health long before the pandemic， often focusing on the physical： adding a gym to the office building or serving healthier food in the cafeteria.

早在疫情之前，一些大公司就开始更加关注员工健康，通常聚焦于身体健康方面，比如在办公楼里增设健身房，或者在食堂提供更健康的食物。

Today， more employers “are not just checking boxes， but actually looking at ways to really enhance people’s health and well-being，” says Suzanne Heidelberger， who has led teams managing real-estate properties for global companies including American Express and Fidelity Investments. She focuses on bringing a hospitality mindset to corporate spaces.

曾带领团队为美国运通和富达投资等全球公司管理房地产的苏珊娜·海德尔伯格表示，如今，越来越多的雇主“不只是敷衍了事，而是真正想办法切实提升员工的健康和幸福”。她致力于将热情好客的心态融入公司空间。

For example， employers might：

例如，雇主们可以：

Rethink physical spaces with relationships in mind. Some companies are adding staircases， both to help people get more steps and to encourage the “casual collisions” that can lead to good relationships. Some are trying to transform green rooftops—created to be environmentally friendly—into gathering spaces.

从人际关系的角度出发重新规划物理空间。一些公司增设楼梯，既让人们多活动，又能促进可能带来良好关系的“偶遇”。还有一些公司尝试把为环保而建的绿色屋顶改造成聚会场所。

Create groups and events to help employees find friends who share their interests. “It could even be something goofy， like an ice cream social for dog lovers， where we’re going to teach you how to make healthy ice cream for your dog，” Heidelberger says.

创建小组、组织活动，帮助员工找到志同道合的朋友。海德尔伯格说：“活动甚至可以是幼稚可笑的，比如为爱狗人士举办冰淇淋联谊会，教大家如何为狗狗制作健康的冰淇淋。”