leading life, health and wellbeing insurer AIA Australia has partnered with national authority Ending Loneliness Together for Australia’s first Loneliness Awareness Week, which kicks off today, and includes a State of the Nation Report into Social Connection.
The report reveals that nearly one in three adults (32 per cent) say they are lonely, while one in six (17 per cent) are reporting severe loneliness, putting them at a higher risk of lower workplace productivity, poor physical and mental health, and chronic disease.
Loneliness is present in the workplace and can have serious impact on employees and businesses. The report finds that people who feel lonely report less work productivity and more work impairment compared with other people.
- 35 per cent of people who are lonely report overall work impairment compared with 24 per cent of people who are not lonely.
- 31 per cent of people who are lonely report presenteeism, compared with 22 per cent of people who are not lonely.
- 11 per cent of people who are lonely report absenteeism, compared with 8 per cent of those who are not lonely.
