Two in five feel more connected to their family since working from home, landmark UK poll finds

• 50% of people feel more connected to their home, and 35% feel closer to their local area since working from home
• 41% report feeling more connected to their family, while 30% feel more isolated from colleagues in a remote work setting
• Hybrid workers report a stronger sense of belonging compared to those who work exclusively from home or on site
• Younger workers (18-34) feel more connected to colleagues, friends, and their communities compared to older generations working from home

London, UK, 5 March 2025 – A new study, released today by the Belonging Forum, revealed that working from home has reshaped social connections across the UK. The Belonging Barometer, a landmark survey of 10,000 UK adults, found that half of the population feels more connected to their home since working remotely, whether fully or hybrid, while 35% say they’re closer to their local area. Notably, 41% feel more connected to their family and 29% to their friends, highlighting the benefits of remote and hybrid working to British social life.

However, the study found a decrease in workplace connections, with 30% of people feeling more isolated from colleagues. The decline is especially marked in middle aged workers – with just 16% of those aged 45-54 reporting stronger bonds with colleagues since working remotely compared to 35% of younger workers aged 18- 24.

The landmark poll found hybrid workers feel more connected to their local area than those who work only from home or solely on site. Three in five (60%) of hybrid workers feel a strong connection to their neighbourhood, compared to 52% of remote workers and 52% of on-site workers.

Regional differences also emerged in the polling, particularly when it came to how people feel about their local area. London leads with 44% of workers feeling more connected to their local area, compared to Northern Ireland at just a quarter (25%). The West Midlands reported the highest sense of family connection since remote working – with 48% of people feeling closer to family, in contrast to 33% in Wales.

Younger workers, especially those aged 25-34, report the strongest sense of connection while remote working. 42% of 25–34-year-olds feel more connected to their friends while working from home, compared to just 15% of 55– 64-year-olds.

The polling shows that while remote work fosters deeper connection to the place people live and their family and friends, its impact on professional relationships and social bonds varies across age and region.

Kim Samuel, the Founder of the Belonging Forum and Author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation, said:

“Anecdotally, people often claim that the shift to remote work has suited older individuals and parents to offer better work-life integration. But thanks to our groundbreaking study which asked the public how working from home has affected their sense of belonging, we now have the data to prove it.

“We found that while people who work from home feel more connected to their home, local area, and family and friends – it has significantly lessened the connection with their colleagues.

“Whilst, as expected, young parents feel the benefits of this young people, more generally, seem to have adjusted better to working from home in some respects. Millennials who work from home feeling more than twice as likely to feel connected to their colleagues compared to those aged Gen X. Is this because a digital generation are more adaptable to a digital way of working?

“However, not all young people feel the same. Men aged 18-34 who are hybrid or fully remote feel more connected to their colleagues than younger women – a reflection of a trend in our research that young women are facing a raft of issues that impact their sense of belonging.

“Working from home hasn’t just changed how we work— it’s reshaping how we connect with our communities, families, and colleagues.

“This represents a seismic shift in the fabric of our society, and we must ensure that everyone—regardless of age or income—experiences the benefits and can truly belong.”

Insights from the 2025 Belonging Barometer will inform a Charter for Belonging, a first-of-its-kind initiative setting out guiding principles and best practices to combat social isolation and foster belonging at individual, community, and systemic levels.

ENDS

About the Belonging Barometer:

• The research was carried out by Opinium on behalf of the Belonging Forum and surveyed a nationally representative sample of 10,000 UK adults. The survey was conducted between 27 November and 9 December 2024.
• The polling analysed figures from the general population and broken down by demographics including gender, age, socioeconomic status, and working status.
• The research used multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP) polling analysis of several questions, giving insights into them at a parliamentary constituency level across the UK.
• The full findings of the second edition of the Belonging Barometer can be viewed here.
• The first edition results for 2024 are available to view here.

About the Belonging Forum: The Belonging Forum is dedicated to understanding and collaborating to create practical solutions that combat isolation and foster belonging. Our research from around the world shows that interconnected, inclusive communities are the foundation of a thriving society, where everyone feels at home. We envision a world in which everyone can realise their right to belong through the experience of meaningful connections to people, to communities, to the natural world, to a sense of purpose and to social, political and economic decision-making.

About Kim Samuel: Kim Samuel is an author, educator, and movementbuilder. As founder of the Belonging Forum and the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, she leads research, advocacy, and action to combat social isolation and build belonging around the world. Kim is a Research Fellow at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford, and an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford. She is the author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation.