Lonely employees, Emotional Engagement, and the Bottom Line

A new article entitled "Genes Get Lonely Too" from Newsweek by Sarah Kliff reports the growing body of research that demonstrates that the experience of loneliness can cause people to become ill.

Importantly, the research shows that it is not only the actual state of being lonely, but the perception of being lonely can also trigger illness. The article states ...

" ... loneliness actually changes how the body functions at a molecular level. The research links feelings of social isolation to an alteration in the activity of specific genes—ones that put lonely people at higher risk for serious disease. And the study, published in the current issue of Genome Biology, also points to the startling fact that it is the perception of loneliness that triggers the adverse health conditions, independent of how much social interaction an individual actually has. Even someone with hundreds of “friends” on Facebook or at the office might think of herself as a lonely person."

So why is this study important for leaders? A simple syllogism:


Employees who are emotionally engaged work are not lonely.
Lonely employees are more likely to become ill, negatively impacting the bottom line.

Therefore, one way to improve the bottom line is for leaders to increase the emotional engagement of their employees.

How do leaders increase emotional engagement?

Many increase emotional engagement by reading my books, Leading People the Black Belt Way and/or The Way of Leading People

BOTTOM LINE: Lonely employees (read: emotionally disengaged employees) are a symptom of serious problems in your organization. Effective leaders improve their bottom line by increasing the emotional engagement of their employees.