The former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, points to an epidemic of loneliness, which he says is beneath most of the chronic conditions costing us so much in money and lives. How often is the frequent visitor to the ED looking not just for relief from a medical condition but also relief from loneliness? And the good work that community health workers perform by simply listening to residents who want their voices heard might be more important as the guidance they offer.
The workplace, Murthy says, is a place that could offer similar support, but too often the team building and free-pizza Fridays and happy hours don’t encourage the kind of deep connection we yearn for and suffer without.
You can listen to an interview with Dr. Murthy here, and read his Harvard Business Review cover story here.