Communication is key: If you work predominantly from home, it’s important to remember to keep in touch to combat loneliness, however, even some people working in an office can experience loneliness. 

As a leader, being present helps you to create a workplace culture built on openness and collaboration, which is essential in any remote or in-person office to combat loneliness. So, celebrate everyone’s successes, no matter how big or small, keep everyone involved and remember to have your door perpetually open. 

While being present in day-to-day meetings reminds your team that you’re there to help, make sure you’re having dedicated check-ins too. This could take the form of a one-on-one video call if you’re a remote worker, a weekly team catch up or a monthly in-person review. All of which can help remote employees feel more connected. 

As remote workers, make sure that we have a face to face catch up with a coffee and/or lunch and spend the day working together at least once a month, wherever is convenient for those meeting up, to help us feel less lonely in a fully remote workforce. 

Encourage socialising: Encouraging your team to chat with one another outside of work hours can boost morale and combat loneliness. Whether it’s a night out, a team meal or simply a call that isn’t about work, I think it’s important for my team to feel like they know each other outside of the workplace. At Marketing Signals, we try to make sure we all meet up twice a year, once in winter and once in summer and then individual teams and managers try to meet up regularly too.

But it’s not just social events that can build a sense of belonging and reduce the risk of feeling lonely. After the weekend, we all make sure we’re catching up on calls to ask how it went to develop a more personal connection. While it’s not always possible or practical to build small-talk into every single meeting, make sure you’re seizing the chances you have to make each other feel connected by simply asking how everyone really is.

Taking calls with the camera on: We tend to make sure that when we’re on calls, we’re using our camera so that we can see each other. This helps maximise communication, and engagement, reduces loneliness and ensures the team are all focused on the call rather than trying to multitask. Seeing the person you’re talking to encourages a more authentic human connection and with a remote team, can help them feel less alone. 

Don’t be an absent manager: In straightforward terms, don’t be an absent manager. There might be a lack of face-to-face contact for those working flexibly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop a formal structure that makes regular contact a priority. 

Ensuring every individual at each location has what they need to be successful, whilst making yourself available when they need additional support is essential. This will ultimately help keep remote employees engaged and ensure they feel supported and less alone, despite not working face to face all the time.