The Lonely Side of Zoom: Missing The Simple Joy of Being Around Others at Work

The May 27 Wall Street Journal article, "The Loneliness of the American Worker," struck a chord with me. It reminded me that so much of modern work is lonely, with our schedules jam-packed with back-to-back Zoom meetings, faceless chats, and fewer work friends. As the American workday becomes more faceless and scheduled, the number of U.S. adults who call themselves lonely has climbed to a staggering 58% from 46% in just six years, according to a recent Cigna poll.

It's Wednesday morning, and I'm logging into my first Zoom meeting of the day. The faces of my colleagues and clients flicker to life, but the connection feels tenuous. We exchange hellos and dive into the agenda, but the conversation feels stilted, the laughter forced. It's a far cry from the easy camaraderie of the office, where a quick joke or a shared glance could brighten even the dullest of meetings.

As the day wears on, the Zoom meetings blend together into a blur of pixelated faces and distorted audio. I find myself longing for the simple pleasures of in-person interaction – the chance to read body language, to make eye contact, to feel the energy of a room. But instead, so many of us are trapped in a virtual world where every interaction feels scripted and every moment of connection is mediated by a screen.

The disconnection is taking its toll. Studies have shown that those who describe themselves as "very lonely" tend to have heavier meeting loads, and I can feel the weight of that loneliness settling on my shoulders. The constant stream of Zoom calls leaves little time for the spontaneous conversations and casual interactions that once made work feel like a community.

But it's not just the lack of in-person contact that makes Zoom meetings so isolating. It's the way they blur the lines between work and home, erasing the boundaries that once gave structure to our days. When your bedroom is your boardroom and your kitchen table is your cubicle, it's all too easy to feel like you're always on the clock, always under the watchful eye of the camera.

The impact of this loneliness goes far beyond the workplace. Studies have shown that chronic loneliness can have severe consequences for our physical and mental health, comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. As we spend more and more time isolated behind our screens, it's crucial that we recognize the toll it can take on our well-being.

But even as I struggle with the loneliness of the Zoom era, I try to focus on the positive. I'm grateful for the technology that allows us to stay connected anywhere in the world, even if it's not perfect. And I hold onto the hope that one day soon, we'll be able to experience those simple joys of in-person interaction again.

In the meantime, I'm finding ways to bring a little bit of that human connection into my Zoom-filled workdays. Because at the end of the day, that's what makes work feel worthwhile – the simple happiness of being around other people, of laughing and learning and growing together. It's a happiness that no amount of Zoom meetings can replicate, but one that I hope we can all experience again soon.