Human beings are inherently social creatures, having existed in close-knit hunter-gatherer groups for most of our 200,000-year history.

Now we live in a world that is more connected than ever.5 billion peoplehave access to the internet.

Revolutionary communication technologies likeFacebookare free to use.

Study: Just how many remote workers are actually lonely?

These miracles should satiate our ancient need for community, right?

There are concerns that the recent uptick oftech-enabled remote work will only worsen things.

If true that the loneliness epidemic is set to spiral its hard to overstate how damaging this would be.

Average % of time working from each location

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It even puts individuals at greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

So should we put the brakes on the remote work revolution?

Chart: How often do you feel lonely in your life today?

Do we all need to return to the office as quickly as possible?

Its time to stop debating and start solving

We werent convinced.

Thats how Social Connection in Remote Work (SCRW) came to be.

Chart: How important is it to you that you have social connection during the day?

Its afirst-of-its-kind studyexploring loneliness in remote work environments.

We hope the findings will help evolve the remote vs. in-office debate.

The world is never going back to the way it was before.

Chart: Most lonely employees think about quitting more than the least lonely employees

Therefore, were focusing on making flexible working a positive experience for everybody.

Heres an overview of what we found

1.

Its a subjective feeling and refers to an individuals perceived quality of their personal relationships.

Most lonely employees spend more time working from home than the least lonely employees

But thats not the case.

Working-from-home has real risks

This doesnt mean homeworking is all bad.

The least lonely people still spend most of their working day there.

Overall, in which of the three main working environments do you feel most socially fulfilled or personally connected to people?

But our datadoesshow a link between working-from-home and loneliness.

If all of our respondents had tried third spaces, the 42% figure would likely be even higher.

Coworking can tackle workplace loneliness

Coworking spaces are drastically more socially fulfilling than other third space locations.

In which of these third spaces do you feel most socially fulfilled or personally connected to other people?

What now?

Our study found that remote work can belesslonely than office-based work.

Thats because coworking spaces were shown to be more socially fulfilling than offices for many workers.

This also indicates that returning to the office might beharmfulfor some.

So what can governments, employers, and even coworking providers do to help?

Selina have spent years implementing programs that foster social connection between guests and locals.

Building a community with people is how the industry can land a blow on the loneliness epidemic.

Additionally, #WorkAnywhere believes governments should fund the creation of community workspaces in underprivileged communities.

A world where only the affluent can access loneliness-tackling coworking hubs is one where we have magnified existing inequalities.

Businesses can help too by supporting their remote employees with memberships.

The workforce has changed forever.

Check out the full Social Connection in Remote Work reporthere.

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