Fewer work friends since going hybrid? You're not alone

When teams went remote or hybrid, they kept the meetings and lost the hallway. Flexible work has real upsides, but the research keeps finding the same cost: fewer friendships at work.

What the numbers show

• In Microsoft's 2022 survey of 31,102 workers in 31 markets, 59% of hybrid and 56% of fully remote employees said they have fewer work friendships since going hybrid or remote ^[1].
• In Gallup's 2025 data, 24% of fully remote and 24% of hybrid employees felt lonely a lot of the previous day, compared with 18% of on-site employees whose jobs could be done remotely ^[2].
• Only two in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree they have a best friend at work ^[3].

These are surveys of what people report, and they don't prove that remote work causes loneliness on its own. Plenty of remote teams are close. But the gap shows up across large samples, so it's worth planning around.

Why it matters for teams

Work friendships aren't only nice to have. Gallup projects that if six in 10 employees had a best friend at work, organizations could see 36% fewer safety incidents and 12% higher profit ^[3]. In research published in Harvard Business Review, high workplace belonging was linked to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk and 75% fewer sick days ^[4].

And loneliness shows up in who leaves: lonely U.S. workers were more likely than others to say they'd likely look for a new job, 36% compared with 20% ^[5].

What helps, in our view

• Use office days for people, not just meetings. If the team is in on the same day, plan lunch together that day.
• Keep it small and regular. A monthly lunch or class does more for getting to know each other than one big offsite a year.
• Let people choose. Offer two or three options and let the team pick. People show up for plans they chose.
• Set a minimum. Agree the plan happens once a set number of people are in, so nobody turns up to an empty table.
• Budget for it. A small, predictable amount per person each month is easier to approve than one big event.

Pasaq gives teams one place to pick and join plans like these, with monthly credits per member set by the company. See team building ideas in Seattle, work out a monthly budget per person, or see how Pasaq works for workplaces.