Isolation

Maybe you have a small business venture, or you love to work from home.

You are the manager, the employee, and you love working as per your own dictates. No bosses, no traffic, no time wasted traveling to and from work, and you work in sync with your own time zones.

Sounds cool, doesn’t it?

Isolation in Business

Whether you are running your own solo business, stuck in the corner of a busy office, or working remotely from home, feeling isolated at work can be a genuine issue for many employees.

Business isolation is a growing problem, and it affects all kinds of people in all types of business environments. In addition, due to the fear of Covid 19, more people are choosing to work remotely, generally by themselves, and losing that day-to-day connection of working around other people.

Simultaneously, competitive pressures force people in the corporate world to work excessive hours, leading to extended periods of being alone and a growing sense of isolation even though they are in an office populated with co-workers.

Symptoms of Business Isolation

There are many symptoms of isolation in business.

We can suffer from a loss of direction, with some uncertainty and fear about the future resulting in a loss of motivation, making it harder to get things done.  We also might struggle to make decisions, making us feel more frustrated, uncertain, and isolated.

This all becomes a vicious cycle, made worse because few people are willing to talk about it as it’s seen as a weakness.

Solutions to Overcome Feelings of Isolation

The negative feelings due to isolation in business are relatively new, and most people don’t know how to handle them.  So, for anyone struggling with business isolation, here are several recommendations to overcome this feeling of isolation.

1. Never lose track of where you are heading – Continually revisit your goals and successes to ensure you are heading in the right direction.

Thinking about the future tends to get most of us excited.  When we get that feeling of ‘what could be,’ it spurs us to action to make our future vision a reality.

2. Deal with the facts–don’t let your imagination run away with you – When feeling isolated, our mind starts to run wild. Will the phone ever ring again? Am I going to lose a big client? Is my business going to survive? This type of internal chatter will drive us crazy.

When in doubt, deal with the facts–not the chatter.

3. Work on other parts of your life – Spend time doing things outside of your business, the things you love–that give you an interest outside of work.
4. Find a confidant–someone you can be open and honest with – This is ideally a friend who knows your business, knows you, and who you can talk openly with.
5. Get out more – Go to networking events, visit a client, make phone calls instead of sending emails, run errands, and even spend time in a coffee shop to work on your laptop.
6. Make the extra effort every day – When working away from others, it is easy to stop doing the little things, like making an effort to dress and groom properly. If you are feeling isolated, what are the small things you have stopped doing?
7. Finally, accept that you are human – Don’t beat yourself up if you are feeling isolated. It’s not a weakness. Understand that you are only human, and with this comes many needs, including interaction with others.

The Bible

Scripture after scripture tells us about isolation. Adam in the garden. Moses on the mountain. Paul in prison. In fact, in some ways, it would appear isolation is a necessary ingredient for a completely spiritual life.

This does not mean that all isolation is healthy.

What the Bible provides for is a remedy for isolation.  One of the gifts our Creator gave us is the need to be in a relationship with others.

We were not designed to be isolated.  In the very beginning, God said.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

And the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 3:12.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

While your job circumstances may cause you to work independently, it does not mean working in isolation.  Remember to fulfill the gifts God has given you and stay in a relationship with others.