Australia’s invisible workforce risk: Governing workplace loneliness

Until workplace loneliness is formally assigned, measured, and governed, organisations risk continuing to talk about connection while isolation quietly grows, writes Dr Natalie Cummins.

In 2025, two in five Australians reported feeling lonely at least some of the time, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Among younger Australians, the proportion is even higher, with persistent loneliness emerging as a sustained pattern rather than a temporary phase.

That is not simply a social statistic. It is a workforce statistic.

Australian organisations are drawing from a labour market in which a significant proportion of employees begin the day already carrying a sense of disconnection. In other words, loneliness is no longer a fringe concern. It is embedded in the Australian workforce.

At the same time, Safe Work Australia’s psychosocial hazard framework recognises poor support, isolated work and relational breakdown as contributors to psychological harm.

The intersection is difficult to ignore.

When loneliness, fatigue and burnout are already elevated across sectors, workplace structures can either mitigate that risk – or intensify it. In a compliance environment, intensification is exposure.

Yet accountability for connection remains diffuse. Boards are increasingly asking how psychosocial risk is being measured and governed. Social disconnection is part of that equation.

Who is accountable?

That question – posed by an audience member at a recent HR summit – sparked one of the most intense debates many HR leaders may have encountered.

The room, filled with leaders from across the globe, including Australia, fell silent when research on workplace loneliness was presented by an HR practitioner. The data was unequivocal: loneliness at work has not declined since the pandemic; in many sectors, it has worsened.

When an audience member asked, “Who actually owns loneliness at work?” the room erupted.

HR was nominated. Then leaders. Then managers. Then employees themselves.

Arguments overlapped, responsibility was deflected, and no consensus emerged.

It revealed a silent organisational risk – one that HR leaders are already being held accountable for, whether formally acknowledged or not. Even among those charged with employee experience and wellbeing, no one could clearly articulate who is accountable for connection.

That same uncertainty exists in Australia.

The international warning signs

The United Kingdom data reinforces what many organisations are already observing. According to the Office for National Statistics and Mental Health UK:

• Approximately 22 per cent of the UK adult population report feeling lonely often or always.
• UK sickness absence has reached 9.4 days per employee, with mental ill-health a primary driver.
• Loneliness is estimated to cost UK employers up to £2.5 billion annually.

Globally, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 found that one in five employees experience daily loneliness. Low engagement – heavily influenced by isolation – costs the global economy approximately US$8.9 trillion, or 9 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

The World Health Assembly has formally recognised social connection as a global health priority. These are not abstract trends. They are governance realities – and Australia is not immune.

When ownership is unclear, solutions stall

Loneliness is not only a wellbeing issue; it is a tangible business risk embedded in performance metrics.

According to Infinite Potential’s State of Burnout 2025 report, loneliness drives:

• A 35 per cent rise in absenteeism.
• A 16 per cent drop in retention.

Cigna’s research shows lonely employees are significantly more likely to be seeking new roles, miss workdays, and report presenteeism.

In Australia, where psychosocial hazards must be actively managed, relational breakdown intersects directly with regulatory expectations.

Loneliness is no longer a “soft” metric. It is a driver of workforce instability.

The solution: amplify compassion with governance

HR leaders can embed connection within governance frameworks – ensuring care is sustained through accountability, design, and measurement.

This requires explicit strategies, clear accountabilities, and measurable outcomes.

1. Measure “social deserts”

Organisations cannot govern what they do not measure.

By integrating validated tools such as the UCLA Loneliness Scale into engagement diagnostics, HR can identify “social deserts” – pockets where isolation is structurally high.

Instead of generic satisfaction questions, organisations should ask:

“Do you feel seen and connected by your peers and leaders?”

This reframes measurement from sentiment into actionable data.

Data turns compassion into strategy.

2. Formalise responsibility with a RACI model

To break the ownership vacuum, HR should implement a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RACI) that clearly delineates roles:

• HR owns the architecture – providing data, tools, and social health audits.
• Leadership owns the modelling – demonstrating inclusive behaviour and relational norms.
• Managers own the cadence – ensuring no direct report goes extended periods without meaningful, non-transactional human engagement.
• Employees own participation – engaging intentionally through peer learning, mentoring, and collaboration.

When loneliness is governed like a business risk, it becomes actionable.

Without formalised responsibility, connection remains aspirational. With structure, compassion becomes sustained organisational capability.

3. Design for meaningful connection

Many connection initiatives fail because they are optional or peripheral.

Instead, connection should be integrated into workflow design. Peer-to-peer learning sprints embed meaningful interaction into daily tasks, making connection a natural outcome of work rather than an additional burden.

In hybrid and AI-mediated workplaces, spontaneous interaction cannot be relied upon. Structured check-ins, mentoring pairings, brief weekly team connection points and intentional buddy systems provide simple but powerful relational touchpoints.

Connection does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be consistent.

4. Embed social health in KPIs

Loneliness is only truly owned when it is measured and incentivised.

Organisations can include:

• Team cohesion scores.
• Relational safety indicators.
• Connection behaviours in leadership performance reviews.

A manager who achieves output targets but presides over an isolated team represents long-term organisational risk. Governance framework would reflect that reality.

Call to action: HR as a steward

By assigning and measuring responsibility for connection, HR leaders move social health from aspiration to operational capability. In hybrid and AI-mediated workplaces, the ability to see, understand, and connect with colleagues underpins performance.

Until workplace loneliness is formally assigned, measured, and governed, organisations risk continuing to talk about connection while isolation quietly grows. When HR applies a governance approach to social health, connection becomes deliberate, sustained, and shared – strengthening culture, collaboration, and organisational resilience.

Dr Natalie Cummins is a lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School.