1174: Workplace Loneliness: When it Happens, Who Experiences It, and How to Prevent It (13785)

Organizer(s)

• ML

  Madison LaBella

  Drexel U., United States

Presenter(s)

• OB

  Olivier Boncoeur

  U. of Notre Dame, United States

Participant(s)

• MP

  Melanie Prengler

  U. of Virginia, Darden School of Business, United States

Presenter(s)

• ML

  Madison LaBella

  Drexel U., United States
• HY

  Hongjun Ye

  U. of Pittsburgh

Participant(s)

• LD

  Lauren D'Innocenzo

  Drexel U., United States
• JP

  Jennifer Petriglieri

  INSEAD, France

Presenter(s)

• ES

  Elizabeth Sheprow

  Harvard Business School, United States

Organizer(s)

• MM

  Mary Mawritz

  Drexel U., United States

Discussant(s)

• SW

  Sarah Wright

  U. of Canterbury, New Zealand

Presenter(s)

• CH

  Constance Hadley

  Boston U. Questrom School of Business, United States
• SW

  Sarah Wright

  U. of Canterbury, New Zealand
• JW

  Jason Williamson

  -, United States
• AM

  Arjun Mitra

  California State U., Los Angeles, United States

Participant(s)

• HO

  Hakan Ozcelik

  California State U. Sacramento, United States
• LW

  Lu Wang

  U. of Alberta

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Surgeon General declared loneliness as an epidemic (Murthy, 2017) and specifically identified an individual’s work environment as a context where loneliness can emerge and have dire consequences (Seitz, 2023; McDaid, 2022). Indeed, research has demonstrated that 80% percent of employees experience loneliness at work (Twaronite, 2022) and that it is related to a multitude of negative outcomes, such as emotional exhaustion (Anand & Mishra, 2018) and decreased organizational commitment (Ayazlar & Güzel, 2014), job satisfaction (Wright et al., 2006), performance (Ozcelik & Barsade, 2018), and engagement (Jung et al., 2021). Thus, unfortunately, workplace loneliness is a prevalent and pernicious experience in modern organizations. In light of this crisis, management scholars have begun to examine the outcomes of workplace loneliness but have devoted far less attention to identifying the factors that may cause workplace loneliness, exploring how workplace loneliness may emerge at the team level, and investigating how to curb workplace loneliness. Therefore, this symposium brings together six papers that aid in addressing these gaps in our understanding of workplace loneliness. Together, these papers focus on investigating the experience of workplace loneliness in critical groups, such as those with stigmatized identities, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and invite a discussion of possible solutions to limit workplace loneliness and mitigate its negative consequences in individuals and teams.

Presentations:

• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Work Loneliness: From Diagnosis to Intervention (13785)
  

  Author: Constance Noonan Hadley – Boston U. Questrom School of Business

  Author: Sarah Wright – U. of Canterbury
• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Workplace Loneliness: The Role of Political Identity Dissimilarity (13785)
  

  Author: Jason Williamson – -
• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Loneliness of the Stigmatized: A Theoretical Model Among Employees from Stigmatized Groups (WITHDRAWN) (13785)
  

  Author: Arjun Mitra – California State U., Los Angeles

  Author: Hakan Ozcelik – California State U. Sacramento

  Author: Lu Wang – U. of Alberta
• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Promises and Perils: Examining the Paradoxical Nature and Consequences of Entrepreneur Loneliness (WITHDRAWN) (13785)
  

  Author: Olivier D. Boncoeur – U. of Notre Dame

  Author: Melanie Prengler – U. of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Lonely Teams: Extending the Regulatory Loop Theory to the Team Level (13785)
  

  Author: Madison Suzanne LaBella – Drexel U.

  Author: Hongjun Ye – U. of Pittsburgh

  Author: Lauren D'Innocenzo – Drexel U.
• 08:00 – 09:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1174: Storying Loneliness: The Psychodynamic Construction and Deconstruction of Persistent Loneliness (13785)
  

  Author: Jennifer Petriglieri – INSEAD

  Author: Elizabeth Sheprow – Harvard Business School