When Cathryn's* company wanted to save money and close its small office in Adelaide she was given a choice: redundancy or work from home.

Key points: Study finds 37 per cent of workers feel lonely at work

Study finds 37 per cent of workers feel lonely at work Gig economy, tech advances blamed for people feeling disconnected

Gig economy, tech advances blamed for people feeling disconnected Researcher says workers will leave jobs as a result

With bills to pay and a life to live, Cathryn chose the latter.

Now the health advice professional sits with her cat and stares at the "same four walls" every day, logging in but checking out.

"There is the option to chat on instant messaging but it doesn't replace face-to-face [interactions], the laughter and bonding that the office brought," she said.

"Consequently my efforts at work and my desire to be useful has somewhat declined."

Cathryn's story mirrors thousands of others as Australians wrestle with an issue experts say is reaching epidemic levels: loneliness.

A new study has found 37 per cent of all workers feel lonely at work, and that a key driver for this is tech advances that were supposed to make jobs easier or more flexible.

The survey of just over 1,000 employees — conducted by HR think tank Reventure — also found 38 per cent of lonely workers reported making more mistakes and 40 per cent felt less productive.

"There's no doubt that the current way that we work is essentially driven by our demands around being transactional," Reventure managing director Lindsay McMillan said.

"Transactional means looking at screens a great deal of our time, more time now than ever before and continuing to rise.

"So our focus into the screen means we're not focussing to people beside us, on the floor above us or below us.

"It's a very demanding, changing world of work that we have discovered."

Dr McMillan said the findings of the study, released this week, complemented earlier work by Reventure that found the gig economy was contributing to a sense of loneliness.

"And the interesting part of it is they will be seeking to go to another job, trying desperately to seek that sense of who they are and their connection," he said.

"Workplaces can and must take charge to design and implement support systems and structures to reduce — and end — workplace loneliness once and for all."

Do you crave a more communal office? You're not alone. ( Supplied: Unsplash/Annie Spratt )

'Befriend an alien'

Loneliness has become a modern obsession of researchers and health professionals.

Experts in the field use words like "epidemic" and "public health crisis". One team in the US is even trying to develop a pill to combat it.

The 2018 Australian Loneliness Report found one in four Australians reported feeling lonely each week, while world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January were told 40 per cent of those under 25 globally are lonely.

Social entrepreneur Tania de Jong runs programs in the workplace to help employees bond, and said technology was an obvious cause for increased loneliness at work.

"Technology and VPN connections and all those things that enable people to work at home definitely means people are more disconnected from their colleagues," she told Radio National.

"People are able to stay more in their bubbles. Before you would go and do tasks together, and now it's very easy to stay in front of your box, your screen."

She said for those still working in offices it was important to reach out to those you think might feel lonely.

"I always say to people: befriend an alien," she said.

"If there's someone looking lonely in a space or in the kitchen or who's just sitting on their own all the time in the cafe then go and say 'hello'."

Would you befriend a lonely co-worker? ( Chetan Hireholi: Public Domain )

'I'm not here to make friends'

Still, not everyone wants to be the life of the office party. Some people are content to be the alien.

ABC audiences shared their own stories about loneliness in the office and they paint a picture of a divided workforce.

Some people just want to clock in and out:

I am happy going through an entire shift without anyone chatting to me about trivial crap I don't really care about — Ralph

I don't want to socialise with the people I work with. I have nothing in common with any of them and don't particularly like most of them. I'm happy being left to myself there — Libbi

I am not at work to build my friendship group or socialise. It isn't about coffee and chat, I go there to work — Kevin

Work is work. Show up. Do the job you are employed and paid to do. Go home. This would be ideal — Ro

Others crave a connection:

I just recently moved to a new job in a new state. It has been incredibly lonely trying to fit into the team. My mental health has suffered despite doing all the things I'm supposed to — Kristin

I always had a "bestie", someone upon whom I could rely on for laughs, honest feedback and genuine friendship. It made the world of difference to my working life — Bronwyn

I started a new job in a very big organisation. There were no set desks — everyone sat somewhere different every day. As a new person, I found this incredibly isolating. It was really hard to build connections. Now I work for a smaller, friendly organisation where I sit with the same people every day and am much happier — Robyn

Some call for a culture change:

The politics of the workplace sometimes isolates workers. If they don't fit in with their colleagues they can feel lonely — Rosi

The modern workplace is more like a factory. People are just disposable components — Ken

I think not separating people in cubicles like they have a disease would help — Lisa

* Name changed to protect privacy