Association between selected workplace psychoemotional aspects and perception of loneliness and isolation at work

Description

Title: Association between selected workplace psychoemotional aspects and perception of loneliness and isolation at work in Latvia: Results from an employee survey in 2022
Authors: Monta Matisāne1*, Svetlana Lakiša1, Linda Matisāne1, Linda Paegle1, Ivars Vanadziņš1.

Affiliations:
1Riga Stradins University, Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health, Latvia
*Corresponding author, [email protected]
Funding: The Latvian Council of Science funded this research as part of the National Research Program of Latvia within the project “BALANCE4LV Research: Assessing and Enhancing WLB in the Latvian Context” (agreement No: RSU-PAG-2024/1-0012//2120.405). The survey of employees used for this research was carried out as part of the national study “Working Conditions and Risks in Latvia 2019-2021” within the framework of the project “Improvement of the Practical Application and Monitoring of Work Safety Laws and Regulations” (No 7.3.1.0/16/I/001) under the specific aid objective 7.3.1 “To improve work safety, particularly in enterprises of hazardous sectors” of the operational program “Growth and Employment.”
Objective:
The objective of this study was to identify the workplace psychoemotional risk factors that would elevate or decrease levels of loneliness and isolation of workers. It is essential to decrease workplace loneliness and isolation, as it impacts the quality of relationships at work, organizational identification and commitment, and information/resource sharing, which affects performance outcomes as well as psychoemotional aspects of health.
Materials and Methods:
Cross-sectional survey data with a sample of 2503 employees (mean age 44.7 years, 59.3% females), representative of the working population of Latvia, were used. The associations between workplace hazards and loneliness and isolation at work were analyzed by using logistic regression odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for gender, age, and education.
Results:
Conflicts with managers (OR = 3.29), individual ones between co-workers (OR = 2.57), between worker groups (OR = 2.31), and with clients (OR = 1.61) all increased the odds ratio of loneliness and isolation. A significantly high elevation was shown in the results from the employees who had experienced lack of work-life balance (OR = 5.91). Workers with primary school/elementary or secondary/vocational education (OR = 0.29 and OR=0.58, respectively) reported lower levels of loneliness and isolation in comparison to workers that had higher education.
Conclusion:
Workers with higher education and salary experience loneliness and isolation more often. Any type of conflict within the workplace environment raises the risk of experiencing loneliness and isolation, so employers should make it a priority to focus on resolving and preventing them, as well as offering support to those who might show signs of insufficient communication or problem-solving skills. Additionally, the results regarding the lack of work-life balance indicate a cause for concern, as it negatively impacts employees’ mental health both in and out of workplace environment, as well as work performance.

Period	4 Nov 2024 → 5 Nov 2024
Event title	EPICOH Early Career Conference "Epidemiology in Occupational Health"
Event type	Conference
Location	Barcelona, SpainShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International