Reward Gateway | Edenred Reveals the State of Workplace Loneliness in New Research

New survey finds nearly two in five U.S. employees report frequent workplace loneliness, with younger workers disproportionately affected

BOSTON, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Reward Gateway | Edenred, a global leader in employee engagement and HR technology, today released new research highlighting a growing crisis of loneliness in the American workplace. The survey of 1,000 U.S. employees reveals that meaningful coworker relationships are not just "nice to have" – they are essential to job satisfaction, motivation, and retention.

The findings paint a compelling picture of the current state of workplace relationships in the U.S. with nearly two in five Americans (39%) say they often experience feelings of loneliness at work, highlighting a widespread challenge across organizations. More than three in five respondents (63%) report that workplace friendships are important to their job satisfaction, underscoring the critical role that meaningful connections play in employee wellbeing. Despite this, nearly a quarter (24%) have considered leaving a job due to a lack of meaningful relationships with coworkers, demonstrating the impact that loneliness can have on retention.

The data also shows that loneliness is not distributed evenly across generations or genders:

• Younger employees feel it most: Gen Z (40%) and Millennials (49%) are significantly more likely to experience workplace loneliness than Gen X (35%) or Baby Boomers/Silent Generation (15%).
• Gen Z (27%) is most likely to report that a lack of meaningful relationships negatively impacts their engagement or motivation, compared to Millennials (15%), Gen X (16%), and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation (9%).
• Men (20%) are more likely than women (12%) to say they have left a job due to a lack of meaningful coworker relationships.

Despite a clear desire for connection, many employees struggle to find opportunities to build relationships at work. Only 47% of Americans say they frequently participate in team-building or social activities organized by their employer, suggesting that such initiatives may not be reaching or engaging the majority of the workforce. Millennials are the most likely to take part in these activities (60%), compared to Gen Z (43%), Gen X (40%), and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation (33%). When it comes to sharing personal challenges or successes with coworkers, just over half (56%) of employees feel comfortable doing so, with Millennials again leading the way at 63%. These findings indicate that while the appetite for connection exists, many employees still face barriers to forming meaningful workplace relationships.

These findings underscore a critical opportunity for employers to foster environments where employees can build authentic connections, regardless of age or background.

"Workplace loneliness is more than an individual challenge, it's a business dilemma," said Alexandra Powell, Director of Insights at Reward Gateway | Edenred. "These results show that employees crave meaningful relationships at work, and when those connections are missing, engagement and retention suffer. Employers must create intentional opportunities for employees to connect, collaborate, and support one another. Investing in workplace relationships isn't just good for people, it's good for business."

Reward Gateway | Edenred's Employee Experience Platform is designed to help managers better support their teams, providing them with the tools and programs needed to improve workplace culture and alleviate the stress felt in today's workplace. The platform gives leaders the ability to follow templated programs, or customize them to their organizations' specific needs, to foster cultures of recognition, appreciation and wellbeing.

To explore the complete survey findings, visit here. For more information about Reward Gateway | Edenred, please visit https://www.rewardgateway.com/company/overview.

About Reward Gateway | Edenred 

Reward Gateway | Edenred helps companies engage, motivate and retain people – every day, all over the world. Partnering with over 4,000 companies in 23 countries, we empower more than 8 million users to connect, appreciate and support one another to make the world a better place to work. Our unified employee experience platform provides the best of recognition, reward, wellbeing, surveys, benefits and discounts that support talent acquisition, retention and values-driven growth. Learn more at www.rewardgateway.com 

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