Isolation survivors
There is a lot of talk these days about the changes that the pandemic has brought to our lives, habits, lifestyle, and work.
While we sympathize with parents who work from home in the chaos of the “child management” and household duties, we often forget about the group of people that is hardly heard and almost invisible – our childless colleagues, who are sometimes also single. For them it’s just as hard, if not harder, to survive the social distancing and smart working, due to the profound feeling of loneliness.
So, can we even compare these temporary challenges of parents to the existential struggles of the childless?
Childless people, as well as singles, often have to fight the stereotype of their life being easier because they don't have children to look after.
In some ways it may be true but childless people themselves, especially those not by choice, don't see it this way. Living alone has its own difficulties, they are just different in nature from those in the family.
The piece of advice that can be useful for the employer is: change attitude.
Trying to avoid jokes about the childless lifestyle, to avoid talking about children thinking that it boosts everyone’s morale, and to avoid putting more workload on the childless colleagues because “they have nothing else to do” can help to balance the team work and overall communication.
Lack of social interaction.
It’s very often, and during this period in particular, that childless and single people feel lonely. With the lockdown of businesses not considered essential, and the restrictions imposed on interactions among the family and friends, people living alone are no longer able to socialize: they cannot visit friends, go to a sports club or volunteer, while these activities could have been vital for them. In isolation, grows the anxiety and concern for parents or other relatives who may need help.
Therefore, for someone who is childless, especially if single, having no support by their side, the isolation becomes extremely toxic, and at times, dangerous. There are studies out there on the increase in suicides in the recent period, and single and childless people can be a large part of those who take desperate steps.
Another consequence of the isolation that effects communication is that childless or single people experience less tolerance towards their colleagues and friends who repeatedly share their kids’ pictures or stories about their hard times as parents. The thing is, being home alone we start concentrating more on our feelings and needs, and some childless colleagues might start having less patience for something that disturbs them.
What can be done is paying dedicated attention to the childless employees.
A good idea may be trying to stay in touch more frequently, even if it’s just to say “hello” and ask “how are you doing”, to make our childless colleagues feel less lonely and more appreciated.
Difficulty in maintaining the work pace, and in general, the work-life balance.
Some people would tend to work late to keep away negative thoughts about their loneliness, while others tend to procrastinate because they may have started questioning their life sense as a whole, and their work as part of it, or may start having signs of a depression.
So, where possible, support should be offered. As ad-hoc assistance, introducing interviews with a wellbeing manager, consultant, or a psychologist can be considered. In the long term, in order to have healthy and fruitful relationships at work, it is advisable to turn to an expert or coach for a series of dedicated measures.
These are just a couple of examples from the palette of feelings and challenges that the childless people may experience in isolation. In this delicate moment, both the employer and the colleagues should pay special attention to their fragile peers. While the team can try and be more sensible towards their childless and single members, the employer should take an active role and review the corporate communication practices.
While we sympathize with parents who work from home in the chaos of the “child management” and household duties, we often forget about the group of people that is hardly heard and almost invisible – our childless colleagues, who are sometimes also single. For them it’s just as hard, if not harder, to survive the social distancing and smart working, due to the profound feeling of loneliness.
So, can we even compare these temporary challenges of parents to the existential struggles of the childless?
Childless people, as well as singles, often have to fight the stereotype of their life being easier because they don't have children to look after.
In some ways it may be true but childless people themselves, especially those not by choice, don't see it this way. Living alone has its own difficulties, they are just different in nature from those in the family.
The piece of advice that can be useful for the employer is: change attitude.
Trying to avoid jokes about the childless lifestyle, to avoid talking about children thinking that it boosts everyone’s morale, and to avoid putting more workload on the childless colleagues because “they have nothing else to do” can help to balance the team work and overall communication.
Lack of social interaction.
It’s very often, and during this period in particular, that childless and single people feel lonely. With the lockdown of businesses not considered essential, and the restrictions imposed on interactions among the family and friends, people living alone are no longer able to socialize: they cannot visit friends, go to a sports club or volunteer, while these activities could have been vital for them. In isolation, grows the anxiety and concern for parents or other relatives who may need help.
Therefore, for someone who is childless, especially if single, having no support by their side, the isolation becomes extremely toxic, and at times, dangerous. There are studies out there on the increase in suicides in the recent period, and single and childless people can be a large part of those who take desperate steps.
Another consequence of the isolation that effects communication is that childless or single people experience less tolerance towards their colleagues and friends who repeatedly share their kids’ pictures or stories about their hard times as parents. The thing is, being home alone we start concentrating more on our feelings and needs, and some childless colleagues might start having less patience for something that disturbs them.
What can be done is paying dedicated attention to the childless employees.
A good idea may be trying to stay in touch more frequently, even if it’s just to say “hello” and ask “how are you doing”, to make our childless colleagues feel less lonely and more appreciated.
Difficulty in maintaining the work pace, and in general, the work-life balance.
Some people would tend to work late to keep away negative thoughts about their loneliness, while others tend to procrastinate because they may have started questioning their life sense as a whole, and their work as part of it, or may start having signs of a depression.
So, where possible, support should be offered. As ad-hoc assistance, introducing interviews with a wellbeing manager, consultant, or a psychologist can be considered. In the long term, in order to have healthy and fruitful relationships at work, it is advisable to turn to an expert or coach for a series of dedicated measures.
These are just a couple of examples from the palette of feelings and challenges that the childless people may experience in isolation. In this delicate moment, both the employer and the colleagues should pay special attention to their fragile peers. While the team can try and be more sensible towards their childless and single members, the employer should take an active role and review the corporate communication practices.
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