Signal File: is connection becoming the ultimate test of performance?
This week’s signals examine how shifts in technology and work design are thinning workplace connection, with loneliness increasingly linked to engagement and performance
As organisations push for efficiency through AI and flexible work models, new pressures are reshaping how people experience work. This week’s signals highlight a growing tension between productivity gains and social connection, as loneliness, reduced day-to-day interaction and shifting skill value begin to surface in engagement, collaboration and performance outcomes.
Workplace loneliness hits performance
One in five employees report feeling lonely at work, contributing to disengagement, higher turnover and an estimated £2.5bn annual cost to UK employers. Despite collaboration tools and office redesigns, loneliness persists, driven by weak connection and low psychological safety rather than physical isolation.
In action: Treat loneliness as a workplace design and leadership issue, embedding everyday connection and psychological safety, especially in hybrid teams.
AI risks thinning workplace connection
New Axios reporting suggests AI tools are replacing everyday human interaction at work, from quick questions to informal mentorship. While this boosts efficiency, workers increasingly turn to chatbots over colleagues, valuing speed and low friction. Chatbots streamline work, but they do not disagree, mentor or build social bonds, raising risks for collaboration in hybrid teams.
In action: Use AI to remove friction, not replace human connection. Protect time for mentorship, debate and shared problem-solving.
Friendship as the core workplace asset
Employees who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged, according to Gallup, yet nearly 45% of workers say they feel isolated on the job. As hybrid work and AI-mediated collaboration reduce informal interaction, friendship is emerging as a critical, but under-designed, driver of engagement and retention.
In action: Connection at work is an infrastructure – build roles, rhythms and leadership behaviours that make friendship possible at work.
AI shifts the value of work
Recent FT analysis argues that as AI rapidly automates coding and data tasks, social and interpersonal skills are becoming the strongest predictor of labour market success. Extending Harvard economist David Deming’s research, the data shows roles combining technical ability with collaboration, creativity and persuasion now outperform purely quantitative jobs on pay and employment.
In action: Reframe AI resilience around hybrid skillsets and invest in collaboration, problem-framing and creative leadership alongside technical fluency.
