Workplace Loneliness Statistics (2026)
Twenty-two percent of employees worldwide felt lonely for much of the previous day in 2025, up from 20% in 2023, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026. In the United States and Canada the figure was 19%. Remote and hybrid workers report it most, at 24% each, against 18% for on-site workers in remote-capable jobs. Younger employees and managers report slightly more than others.
The pages that rank for this question stack a 2019 Cigna survey, a 2010 meta-analysis about smoking and a 2024 Gallup figure into one "2026" trend, and credit a $154 billion cost estimate to Harvard Business Review. This page uses Gallup's 2024 and 2026 reports, Cigna's 2018, 2020 and 2025 studies, Pew, EY, the Holt-Lunstad meta-analyses and the peer-reviewed field study on loneliness and performance, states what each one measured, and explains where the famous numbers came from.
How many employees are lonely, and the trend
Gallup's World Poll asks employed adults whether they experienced loneliness "a lot of the previous day." In the 2026 edition, drawn from 141,444 employed respondents during 2025, 22% said yes, the same as 2024 and up from 20% in 2023. Among the unemployed, the figure is 32%. Regionally, the US and Canada sat at 19%, Europe at 13%, Latin America at 12% and South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa at 28%.
Among US adults as a whole, not just workers, Gallup's September 2024 panel survey of 6,289 people found 20% experiencing daily loneliness, down from a pandemic peak of 25% in March 2021 and up from a low of about 17% at the start of 2024. Loneliness fell after the pandemic and has drifted back up.
Why the figures range from 19% to 85%
The spread in published figures comes from the instrument, not the population.
| Source | What it asked | Result | Sample | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup | Lonely a lot of the previous day | 22% global, 19% US and Canada | 141,444 employed | 2025 |
| Cigna Group | Scores 43 or more on the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale | "More than half" of US workers | 5,000+ US adults | 2024 |
| Cigna | Same scale | 61% of US adults (54% in 2018) | 10,441 | 2019 |
| EY Belonging Barometer | Have felt excluded at work | 85% (75% in 2023) | 5,000+ in five countries | 2025 |
| Meta-Gallup | Very or fairly lonely | 24% of adults in 142 countries | About 1,000 per country | 2022-23 |
Gallup's measure is about yesterday. Cigna's UCLA scale sums twenty items about companionship and isolation and classifies anyone above a threshold as lonely, which is why it produces majorities. EY's "ever felt excluded" has no time frame. A page that moves from 19% to 61% to 85% as if they described one thing is not describing anything. This page uses Gallup for prevalence and the others for what they measure.
Remote, hybrid and on-site
In Gallup's 2026 edition, 24% of exclusively remote employees and 24% of hybrid employees reported daily loneliness, against 18% of on-site workers in remote-capable jobs and 21% of on-site workers in jobs that cannot be done remotely. In the 2024 edition the split was 25% remote, 21% hybrid and 16% on-site, so the gap has narrowed and hybrid has caught up with remote. Remote workers are also the most engaged group, at 30% or 31% globally depending on the edition. Gallup calls this the remote work paradox: more engaged and more isolated at once.
Pew's 2023 survey of 5,775 US workers found 53% of those who work from home at least some of the time said it hurt their ability to feel connected with co-workers, 37% said it made no difference and 10% said it helped. In a January 2022 Pew survey, 60% of new teleworkers said they felt less connected to co-workers than before. EY's 2025 data add that 63% of fully remote workers regularly go a full workday without a real-time conversation, against 51% of hybrid and 35% of fully in-office workers. Cigna's 2019 data, from before the pandemic, found frequent telecommuters scored higher on the loneliness scale than occasional ones, and that those who telecommuted more than they wanted to scored highest of all. Our return to office statistics page covers how much of the workforce is in each arrangement.
Age, gender and job level
Gallup's 2025 data show small gaps: 23% of employees under 35 report daily loneliness against 21% of those 35 and over, 23% of managers against 21% of individual contributors, and 21% of women against 22% of men. Cigna's UCLA-scale data show larger generational gaps because the instrument is broader: in 2024, 67% of Gen Z adults, 65% of millennials, 60% of Gen X and 44% of boomers classified as lonely. In Cigna's 2019 workplace items, 54% of Gen Z employees said they often felt emotionally distant from co-workers against 28% of boomers, and employed men were more likely than women to feel abandoned by co-workers under pressure, 32% against 23%.
Among US workers specifically, Gallup's May 2025 panel of 19,043 found Gen Z nearly twice as likely as Gen X and nearly three times as likely as boomers to report a lot of loneliness the previous day. Our Gen Z workplace statistics page covers the rest of that data.
What loneliness does to health
The health evidence is the source of the most repeated claim on this topic, that loneliness is as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It comes from Holt-Lunstad, Smith and Layton's 2010 meta-analysis in PLoS Medicine of 148 studies and 308,849 people, which found people with stronger social relationships had 50% higher odds of survival over an average 7.5 years. The paper's own words are that the effect is "comparable with quitting smoking" and exceeds obesity and physical inactivity. The 15-cigarettes framing came from a figure comparing effect sizes and was hardened into a slogan by Cigna's 2018 report and the Surgeon General's 2023 advisory. The same group's 2015 meta-analysis found loneliness associated with 26% higher odds of mortality, social isolation 29% and living alone 32%, with stronger effects under age 65. These are about social connection broadly, not workplace loneliness specifically.
Cigna's 2025 report found lonely Gen X workers rated their mental health 30 points lower than non-lonely peers and reported depression or anxiety 23 points more often. Among lonely boomers, 34% rated their mental health excellent or very good against 73% of the non-lonely. Our workplace stress statistics page covers the wider health evidence.
Loneliness, engagement and performance
The one peer-reviewed field study is Ozcelik and Barsade's 2018 paper in the Academy of Management Journal, which followed 672 employees and 114 supervisors in two organizations and found lonelier employees received lower supervisor-rated performance, explained by lower approachability and weaker commitment to the organization. Gallup's 2024 US study of 19,846 workers found engaged employees 64% less likely to be lonely than not-engaged ones, and actively disengaged employees almost as lonely as the unemployed. Employees who strongly agree their opinions count are 39% less likely to be lonely, and those with a best friend at work 21% less likely.
BetterUp's 2022 survey of more than 3,000 US workers found 43% did not feel a sense of connection to co-workers, 22% did not have one friend at work, and 53% would choose stronger ties even at the cost of pay or slower advancement. Employees with low belonging had 313% stronger intention to quit in its data, a figure often misreported as applying to "lonely employees." Our employee engagement statistics page covers the best-friend item in context.
The $154 billion figure
Cigna's February 2022 analysis estimated that loneliness costs US employers more than $154 billion a year in stress-related absenteeism alone. It comes from the employed subset of Cigna's 2019 survey, about 6,000 workers, in which lonely employees missed more than five additional workdays a year for avoidable stress-related absence and were nearly twice as likely to intend to quit within twelve months. It is pre-pandemic data, it covers absenteeism only, and it is frequently attributed to Harvard Business Review, which only reported it, or to Cigna's 2025 report, which does not contain it. Cigna's 2024 data give the behavioral pattern behind it: lonely workers missed at least one day a month at 35% against 22%, came to work "mentally somewhere else" at 42% against 21%, and were likely to seek a new job at 36% against 20%. Our employee cost calculator applies absence rates to your own payroll.
What reduces it
Cigna's 2019 data measured the difference in UCLA loneliness scores by workplace condition. Good co-worker relationships cut the score by 10 points, shared goals with colleagues by about 8, a good or best friend at work by about 6, and work-life balance by about 7. Too many phone calls or in-person conversations beyond what the employee wanted raised it by 4 to 5 points, which is a warning against forced socializing. EY's 2025 data rank the drivers of belonging as psychological safety at 41%, flexibility at 38%, wellbeing support at 37%, developmental feedback at 31% and check-ins at 29%, and found almost two thirds of employees would turn to a co-worker when feeling isolated. In Cigna's 2024 data, lonely workers whose employer supported work-life balance were ten times as likely to report high vitality as those without, 20% against 2%. The evidence points to relationships and manager behavior, not events. Our engagement ideas for remote teams guide is built on that.
Key takeaways
- 22% of employees worldwide and 19% in the US and Canada felt lonely a lot of the previous day in 2025, per Gallup. The global figure was 20% in 2023.
- Remote and hybrid workers report daily loneliness at 24% each against 18% for on-site workers in remote-capable jobs. The gap has narrowed since 2024.
- 53% of US workers who work from home say it hurts their connection with co-workers. 63% of fully remote workers regularly go a full day without a real-time conversation.
- Under-35s report slightly more daily loneliness than older workers, 23% against 21%. On Cigna's broader scale, 67% of Gen Z adults classify as lonely against 44% of boomers.
- Stronger social relationships are associated with 50% higher odds of survival across 148 studies. The '15 cigarettes' line is a paraphrase, and the research is about connection broadly, not work.
- Lonelier employees receive lower performance ratings in the one field study, and engaged employees are 64% less likely to be lonely.
- The $154 billion employer cost is Cigna's 2022 estimate of stress-related absenteeism from 2019 data. It is not from Harvard Business Review or the 2025 report.
- Good co-worker relationships cut loneliness scores by 10 points and a work friend by about 6. Forced socializing beyond what people want raises them.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of employees feel lonely at work?
22% of employees worldwide experienced loneliness a lot of the previous day in 2025, per Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026, and 19% in the US and Canada. On Cigna's broader UCLA Loneliness Scale, more than half of US workers classify as lonely. The two measure different things.
Are remote workers lonelier than office workers?
Yes, though the gap is narrowing. In Gallup's 2026 data, 24% of exclusively remote and 24% of hybrid employees reported daily loneliness against 18% of on-site workers in remote-capable jobs. In 2024 the split was 25% remote against 16% on-site.
Does working from home hurt connection with co-workers?
Most who do it say so. 53% of US workers who work from home at least some of the time told Pew in 2023 it hurt their ability to feel connected with co-workers, 37% said it made no difference and 10% said it helped.
Which age group is loneliest at work?
Younger workers. 23% of employees under 35 report daily loneliness against 21% of those 35 and over in Gallup's data, and Gen Z US workers are nearly three times as likely as boomers to report it. On Cigna's scale, 67% of Gen Z adults classify as lonely against 44% of boomers.
How much does loneliness cost employers?
Cigna estimated more than $154 billion a year in stress-related absenteeism alone, based on lonely employees missing over five extra workdays a year in its 2019 survey of about 6,000 workers. The figure was published in 2022 and covers absenteeism only.
Does loneliness affect job performance?
Yes. A field study of 672 employees and 114 supervisors found lonelier employees received lower performance ratings, explained by lower approachability and weaker commitment. Lonely workers were also twice as likely to come to work 'mentally somewhere else' in Cigna's 2024 data, 42% against 21%.
Is loneliness really as deadly as smoking?
The comparison comes from a 2010 meta-analysis of 148 studies and 308,849 people in which strong social relationships raised survival odds by 50%, an effect the authors called comparable with quitting smoking. The '15 cigarettes a day' version is a later paraphrase. The research is about social connection in general, not workplace loneliness.
What reduces loneliness at work?
Relationships and manager behavior. Good co-worker relationships cut UCLA loneliness scores by 10 points and a work friend by about 6 in Cigna's data. Engaged employees are 64% less likely to be lonely. Employees rank psychological safety, flexibility and wellbeing support as the top drivers of belonging. Forced socializing beyond what people want makes it worse.