The rise of working from home is adding to loneliness with more than three million people who do this claiming it means they don’t see other people very often, new research from digital board game group Marmalade Game Studio shows.
Its nationwide study found nearly one in three (29%) adults say they suffer from being lonely and one in four of them (26%) say it has a seriously negative impact on their mental health.
More than half (52%) of those who suffer from loneliness say it is because they don’t have many close friends while 28% say it is because they live alone. However, 20% say working from home has added to their loneliness.
Mental health is a major issue among those who suffer from being lonely – around two-fifths (38%) of those who describe themselves as lonely say their mental health issues add to their loneliness. This is in turn has an impact on their mental wellbeing.
Around 89% who describe themselves as lonely say it has a negative impact on their mental health while 13% say it has no impact.
The research for Marmalade Game Studio, which publishes popular digital board games such as Monopoly, Taboo, Cluedo and Jumanji, found 70% of those who describe themselves as lonely speak to an average of three or fewer family members or friends on an average weekly basis.
Cristina Mereuta, co-CEO at Marmalade Game Studio, said:
Working from home has inevitably increased as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and while for many it means more time with family, it clearly also adds to isolation for others.
Staying connected with friends and family is important for mental health with one in four adults admitting loneliness has a seriously negative impact on their mental health.
The table below shows how many days in the past month people say they have not spoken to anyone.
| HOW MANY DAYS IN THE PAST MONTH HAVE YOU NOT SPOKEN TO ANYONE? | HOW MANY PEOPLE AFFECTED |
| 25 to 30 | 414,00 |
| 20 to 25 | 155,000 |
| 15 to 20 | 465,750 |
| 11 to 15 | 621,000 |
| 10 | 983,270 |
Digital gaming has proved to be important for mental health – 16% of European Union gamers say being able to play games online and connect with others particularly families helped during lockdowns and 42% say playing multiplayer games during lockdown made them happier.
Marmalade Game Studio has recently introduced Bubble in-game video chat allowing gamers to add friends and family to group chats, start games from these, and video chat whilst playing.
