The US surgeon-general Vivek Murthy recently issued a report calling attention to an epidemic of loneliness and isolation; he warned that people’s lack of social connection was “as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day”. Worst affected are men: in 2021, a study by the Survey Center on American Life said the percentage of men without any close friends had jumped from 3 per cent to 15 per cent since 1990. Can the workplace help alleviate the problem? Host Isabel Berwick talks to Jonathan Black, FT columnist and director of the University of Oxford’s careers service, FT reporter and Unhedged host Ethan Wu, and Max Dickins, author of the memoir Billy No-Mates: How I Realised Men Have a Friendship Problem.

Want more?

The loneliness epidemic threatens our health as well as our happiness

Lonely bosses seek opportunity in a crisis of disconnection

FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next.

We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!

Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Audrey Tinline and Laurence Knight. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa and the sound engineer is Simon Panayi

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AVE #496: Bell Curve Normies