The Lonely Worker

Loneliness is not a new term; the newness arises from its connection with the workplace. Who contradicts the fact that loneliness is the worst thing to happen to one at work? Being a social animal, man needs someone to interact with continuously. Informal interaction is more necessary to improve performance. It might be ridiculous to link employee performance with informal interactions and interrelationships. How is it possible for the HR personnel to identify people who are feeling lonely at the workplace? Two out of ten people always feel alone even in the crowd or in a noisy party. Ignoring such people, the HR personnel need to identify the lonely ones. One of the following situations can lead a person to be lonely.
1. They are aloof from the remaining staff. The place of work should not demarcate one employee from the other. Everyone should feel the warmth of being within the team. Physical distance can also impede productivity.
2. Mental distance due to an isolated role and responsibility. New positions are added everyday and a new employee might be completely alienated with the other workers with regard to the work flow. Special attention has to be focused on employees whose role is new to the organization. Constant restructuring should be done to make such people feel a part of the team.
3. Some persons are disinclined to move with the flock. Men who are basically vociferous but are isolated after certain situations have to be influenced to regain normalcy. Very soon, they end up getting frustrated with the team and the job.
4. Teams isolate certain people due to various reasons. If one of the employees is involved in a scam, it might happen that the team members feign enmity with such an employee and ignore him. Men learn from their mistakes. A forgiving attitude should be cultivated within the organization. Equality has to be ensured.

Once the reason for loneliness is identified, try to turn things around to make such people move in the organization and excel in their performance. A 4-step strategy can be devised to avoid loneliness and the consequential loss.
1. Recruitment & Selection. From the moment of first interview, the prospective employees should feel at home with the organization. HR personnel who gloat about the organization are sowing seeds of misinterpretation.
2. Orientation. Despite the welcome home strategies followed by big companies, most employees feel lonely when they begin work alone. Employees joining in groups are more comfortable and work effectively than singleton enrolments.
3. Staff Structuring. Try to constantly discuss the employee structure with the team leaders to ensure that everyone is a part of the team. Technological mapping software are available to relate to employees and tasks.
4. Even after the employees are aloof from the others, try to make them special by coming up with creative ideas to award them as the Most silent employee in the annual meetings.

Human resources management, indeed, is the most complicated task. Numerous people with varying attitudes from different cultures come together to work in an organization.