Gen Z increasingly lonely working from home, new data reveals

Young adults feel lonelier working from home than older generations, new research suggests.Data from the Bupa Wellbeing Index suggests a rise in the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who feel that working alone makes them lonely, from 42 per cent in 2025 to 47 per cent in 2026 - nearly half.Across all age groups, 34 per cent surveyed in 2026 said working alone makes them feel lonely - down just one point from 35 per cent the year prior.Just 18 per cent of those aged 55 and older felt lonely while working alone. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say And for those aged 45-54, the figure was 28 per cent.The data also suggests that Gen Z is more significantly impacted by mental health in the workplace as opposed to the general population.Over four in ten (41 per cent) respondents said mental health affected their ability to work in the past 12 months, compared to 29 per cent of all age groups.And nearly nine in 10 younger workers (87 per cent) said they go to work with a mental health issue, compared to 70 per cent of all respondents.Mental health was also more frequently named as a contributing factor in Gen Z leaving work in the past 12 months as opposed to all workers.Some 35 per cent of adults between 18 and 24 said it had an effect, as opposed to 24 per cent across all ages.Shazna Khanom, head of clinical mental health at Bupa, said: "As we await the final publication of the Alan Milburn review of young people and work, one thing increasingly stands out to me as a clinician."It's not just about helping young people into work, we also need to create workplaces where they can feel connected, supported and able to thrive.LATEST HEALTH NEWS:Manosphere must be treated as public health problem 'similar to smoking', experts warnCoronavirus jabs injected into children as young as six despite secret blood-clot fearsNight shifts during pregnancy linked to risk of developmental problems in children"While remote and flexible working can bring significant benefits, connection and mental wellbeing should remain a priority alongside them."Ms Khanom said creating "mentally healthy workplaces" was a "shared responsibility", adding that employers should make people feel safe "discussing concerns and accessing support early".Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from July to September showed higher feelings of loneliness generally among younger age groups.Some 34 per cent of people aged 16 to 29 said they always feel lonely or are lonely often or some of the time, compared to 25 per cent of people of all ages and 22 per cent of those aged 50 to 69, the ONS found.GB News has previously explored the causes of Britain's chronic loneliness epidemic, with the fall of third spaces, social stigma, and the ballooning benefits bill all cited as factors.Dr Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist who has examined the mental health crisis in young people, said the "second space" of work was in decline due to the rise of remote work, impacting men who used it to "grab lunch or start a conversation".She told The People's Channel: "We are making work more convenient, but relationships less convenient."Also of concern was the rise in artificial intelligence, with fears that lonely young adults could turn to chatbots rather than human interactions.A spokesman from the Centre for Social Justice previously warned that charities were dealing with levels of loneliness "off the scale". Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter