Workplace loneliness in a flexible work environment, its effects and its moderators

Abstract

This study aims to understand Loneliness in the Workplace (LIW) and potential moderators at Instacart, a publicly traded technology company operating primarily in the United States and Canada, approximately one year after adopting their Flex First remote work policy. Responses from 2,999 full-time, corporate employees collected as part of the company’s Annual Employee Survey (AES), paired with HR records and badge scan data for the San Francisco, CA and Toronto, ON offices were used for data analysis. The results show that employees report experiencing LIW, specific to social companionship (LIW-SC). Further, LIW-SC is correlated with lower levels of engagement, performance and intent to stay. Moreover, LIW-SC varies across groups, basis demographics, particularly gender and race. Interventions, in the form of open offices and periodic meetings, termed Jams, do not have an effect on individuals’ experience of LIW-SC.