More than half of senior leaders feel it was not worth reaching the level where they are professionally due to the loneliness the job has brought with them in the office and the damage it has done to their home life.
This was discovered by CV-Library, a UK job board which found that 55 per cent of senior leaders say it is not worth achieving their position due to what else it has brought with it.
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of senior leaders admit to feeling lonely in the workplace as well as 57 per cent claiming their home life has suffered as a result of work.
It was also found that 41 per cent claim that people’s attitudes towards them have changed after they became a senior leader. What has added to this feeling of loneliness is that 43 per cent believe they have little in common with their colleagues and 25 per cent say their colleagues are much younger than they are.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library said:
Reaching the top is an attractive goal for many, but even the most senior employees need support in the workplace. Particularly if you’re working long hours and shoulder huge levels of responsibility.
Naturally, as a senior member of staff, you’ll have to remain neutral towards your teams, but this can result in feelings of exclusion. Moreover, you’ll have a responsibility to provide support to your employees, but don’t forget about yourself! Seek help from other senior members of staff, especially in the transition period after being promoted.
As a senior employee, you may feel unable to talk about any feelings of loneliness because of your status in the company. To combat this, it’s important to prioritise your own wellbeing and work closely with other leaders. Whether you organize company socials to blow off some steam away from the workplace, or have regular catch ups with fellow manager, it will help you to forge stronger working relationships. In turn, this should encourage a more open and supportive atmosphere.
Senior leaders believe the best way for employers to prevent loneliness in the office is:
- Put appropriate support in place (49 per cent)
- Have more office socials (35 per cent)
- Hire a diverse team (33 per cent)
- Construct an open-plan (28 per cent)
- Improve the onboarding process (27 per cent)
In order to gather these results, CV-Library asked the opinions of 300 senior leaders.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
