Prelims

Half Title Page

Overcoming Workplace Loneliness

Endorsements

Praise for Overcoming Workplace Loneliness

In a world dominated by multiple connections on social media, we face a stunning increase in people experiencing loneliness. This is a particular issue in the mass movement to remote work. This timely book is a much-needed research investigation into workplace loneliness. It is a must-read for leaders, HR professionals, and workers themselves.

—Ronald E. Riggio, PhD, Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology, Claremont McKenna College, USA

It is rare to find a study that is both relevant and balanced. This study offers the story of loneliness along with data to support the multiple causes and effects it has on our workplaces. In a world forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, aspects of our work environments once easily ignored are now laid bare for all to see. This book offers readers an opportunity to view workplace loneliness with new eyes and then reflect on how they might lead themselves and others to mitigate loneliness in the workplace.

—Chris Cartwright, MPA, EdD, Inclusion, Intercultural and Global Leadership Assessment Consultant

Through their extensive research and experience, authors Cenkci, Downing, Bircan, and Perham-Lippman have written a comprehensive, actionable, and much-needed guide to address the challenges of workplace loneliness and foster a sense of belonging in the remote workplace. Overcoming Workplace Loneliness: Cultivating Belonging for a Remote Workforce is a timely and relevant book; a must-read for leaders and members of remote or hybrid teams.

—Dr Melody Rawlings, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Virtual Organizations, National University, USA

Overcoming Workplace Loneliness: Cultivating Belonging for a Remote Workforce, authored by Ada Cenkci, Megan Downing, Tuba Bircan, and Karen Perham-Lippman, not only explores loneliness at work but also commits to easing loneliness among remote workers. The book addresses two important and timely considerations: loneliness and belonging in remote settings, which makes it an ideal read for students and scholars in evidence-based regulation of workplace cognition, behaviours and emotions of loneliness under remote working conditions.

—Professor Mustafa Ozbilgin, Chair in Organisational Behaviour, Brunel University London, UK

Authors Ada Cenkci, Megan Downing, Tuba Bircan, and Karen Perham-Lippman have written a timely, informative, and highly useful disquisition on overcoming workplace loneliness. Their work couldn't be more relevant and important to society. Cultivating employee belonging for the well-being of a remote workforce is an important need. This treatise is ideal as a pre-read for class discussion about a consequential topic in the world of work today. This is an excellent monograph for the academic world.

—Dr George Manning, Professor of Psychology, Northern Kentucky University, USA

The authors have initialized research and provided leadership solutions to the immense issues of workplace loneliness and belonging in both the remote and traditional workplaces. Their research results and astute data analyses will be great assets to leaders in the workplace, family, and community. The author team has provided important research into the crucial areas of caring leadership and employee development.

—Dr Kent Curtis, Professor Emeritus of Organizational Leadership, Northern Kentucky University, USA

The content in this book is important and very timely to understanding how to navigate the rapidly changing work-environment in a way that brings us greater health and fulfilment. The study and findings make this an essential read for leaders.

—Helen Abdali Soosan Fagan, PhD, Author of Becoming Inclusive, Founder and CEO at Helen Fagan and Associates, and Lecturer at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA

Title Page

Overcoming Workplace Loneliness

Cultivating Belonging for a Remote Workforce

By

Ada T. Cenkci

Northern Kentucky University, USA

Megan S. Downing

Northern Kentucky University, USA

Tuba Bircan

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

And

Karen Perham-Lippman

Eastern University, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Ada T. Cenkci, Megan S. Downing, Tuba Bircan and Karen Perham-Lippman.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: www.copyright.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters' suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-502-1 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-501-4 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-503-8 (Epub)

List of Tables and Figures

About the Authors

Ada T. Cenkci, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Organizational Leadership at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). She has taught leadership, diversity, and culture courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at several institutions. Dr Cenkci's research interests center on workplace loneliness, belonging, and inclusive leadership. Her scholarly work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Management Research Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Journal of Leadership Education.

Megan S. Downing, EdD, is an Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Organizational Leadership at Northern Kentucky University (NKU), where she teaches leadership courses in the College of Arts & Sciences and Honors College. Dr Downing's research interests center on leadership education and development, service learning, online learning, workplace loneliness, belonging, and impostor phenomenon. Her scholarly work has been published in the International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, Journal of Leadership Education, Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, and Journal of College Student Retention.

Tuba Bircan, PhD, is an interdisciplinary researcher and a mentor with a passion for equal opportunities. Her research interests encompass a broad range of topics, including public perception and attitudes toward new technologies, ethical and socially responsible use and governance of Big Data and AI for global challenges, diversity, migration, gender, inequalities, and social and public policies. With extensive experience in quantitative and mixed research methods, she has made significant contributions to empirical research that informs policymaking. Her publications predominantly focus on migration studies, the use of Big Data and AI in social sciences, and inclusive policies and inequalities.

Karen Perham-Lippman, CDP, CAGS, is Jensen Hughes' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director. She has over a decade of experience leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies globally and is a founding member of Senior Executive's DEI Think Tank. Karen is an Adjunct Professor in the Business Center of Denver Community College, which serves Colorado's most diverse student population and in 2021, received a governor appointment to Colorado's Business Experiential Learning Commission. She has been recognized with awards for leadership and service, is a Certified Diversity Professional, and is ACUE-certified for designing equitable courses. She is a PhD candidate in Organizational Leadership at Eastern University and has been published with Emerald, SAGE Publishing, Ethics International Press, and Merits International Journal.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the development of this book. First and foremost, we would like to thank our families and friends for their unwavering support and patience as we worked on this manuscript.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the two companies that collaborated with us on this project and allowed us to conduct the mixed methods study in their organizations. We also express our gratitude to the scholars and pretest participants who provided feedback on our interview guide. We are especially thankful to the study participants for taking the time to share their experiences with us.

We are also grateful to Northern Kentucky University (NKU) for awarding Dr Cenkci the faculty development program project grant and sabbatical leave. Additionally, we wish to express our gratitude to Dr Shamima Ahmed from NKU for her support throughout this project.

We also acknowledge Nick Bliven, MPA, for his assistance with the interview transcription and Max Harris for linguistically editing the manuscript. We are thankful to Emerald Publishing for their support throughout the process, especially to the members of the Editorial Team. Finally, we express our gratitude to the anonymous peer reviewers for their invaluable feedback, which improved the manuscript. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to everyone who helped make this book possible.