Workplace Loneliness Through the Lens of Management Research: A Bibliometric and Thematic Exploration

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The workplace is also not devoid of this menace; it is an essential factor for employees' well-being and affects performance. With the growing attention to loneliness, there is a need for a systematic understanding of its conceptual evolution and intellectual structure from the management perspective in academic articles. The survey used the PRISMA methodology to extract articles from the Web of Science and conduct a bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed articles on workplace loneliness within management and organisational research between 2000 and 2025. The survey used 940 articles for analysis using the Bibliometrix R package. Results reveal three dominant research clusters: ( 1 ) Loneliness, Satisfaction, Emotional Impact, ( 2 ) Performance, Measurement, Empirical Scaling, and ( 3 ) Health Effects and Niche Measurement Studies; the study identifies leading authors, institutions, journals, and countries contributing to this field. Thematic evolution indicates a paradigm shift toward understanding loneliness in the context of hybrid work environments and virtual collaboration. Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Health occupations Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Workplace Loneliness PRISMA methodology Bibliometric Analysis R Studio Biblioshiny Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14 1. Introduction In Hindu philosophy, ancient texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata illustrate instances where loneliness is intricately linked to spiritual isolation, meditation, and the pursuit of enlightenment. It was taken as a positive aspect of that, and it was suggested to go for vanprastha ( retirement from all worldly responsibilities and moving to the forest) after the age of 50. Even the kings were going to vanaprastha in the quest for spiritual fulfilment. In literature, the poets and writers elevated loneliness to prominence in the Romantic and Victorian periods. Thomas Hardy and Emily Dickinson were the key contributors. They described loneliness as a mental state influenced further by industrialisation and individualism (Mijuskovic, 2012). The groundwork for empirical research on loneliness was laid by Weiss (1973), who differentiated between emotional loneliness, defined as the absence of intimate relationships, and social loneliness, which arises from a lack of broader social connections. In the 21st century, as globalisation and digitalisation progressed, loneliness emerged in a new avatar ( incarnation) as a significant area of inquiry within organisational and management studies. Notably, research focusing on remote work environments, leadership dynamics, and employee well-being has illustrated that loneliness prominently impacts workplace morale, productivity, and employee retention—findings supported by the works of Barsade and Ozcelik (2012) and Golden et al. (2008). The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified the imperative to address mental health and foster inclusive workspaces. Statistical evidence underscores the growing public health concern related to loneliness. According to the World Health Organisation (2021), one in three older adults reports experiencing loneliness, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Cigna (Murthy, 2020) indicated that 61% of employees in the United States reported feelings of loneliness within the workplace. Given this backdrop, there is a pressing need for a bibliometric and thematic exploration of workplace loneliness from management perspectives, aimed at enriching the understanding of this multifaceted phenomenon and developing strategies to mitigate its adverse effects on individuals and organisations alike. 2. Literature Review In India, the tradition of vanaprastha, as suggested by ancient texts like the Vedas, advocates that after age 50, individuals should relinquish their family responsibilities and retire to the forest to spend the remainder of their lives. During this period, they focus on meditation and spiritual practices. Historically, many saints lived in the forest to gain knowledge; for instance, Lord Buddha attained enlightenment alone in Bodh Gaya, India. Loneliness, which is a significant concern today, was once considered a psychosocial issue. The impact of loneliness on productivity, workplace dynamics, and employee well-being led authors to treat loneliness as a critical domain in organisational research. Authors like Ozcelik & Barsade (2018) and Wright & Silard (2020) emphasised that loneliness affects individuals and significantly impacts structural and managerial challenges in modern organisations. One of the most influential authors, Barsade and Ozcelik (2012), suggested using emotional culture to minimise workplace loneliness and enhance performance. Lau (2012) was able to link feelings of loneliness to leadership styles and specifically suggested that intelligent leadership can be helpful in reducing perceived social isolation. Brown, Guilcher, and Hitzig (2020) have created the foundation to connect workplace structures with loneliness-related outcomes. The key Institute contributors in this domain are the University of Toronto, the State University System of Florida and the University of California. The literature still lacks comprehensive bibliometric analyses that map co-authorship patterns and institutional collaboration networks, highlighting the need to chart the intellectual structure of this field (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). In terms of conceptual streams, research on workplace loneliness intersects multiple areas. Scholars like Silard and Wright (2020) have emphasised the emotional impact of organisational culture and peer relationships. The new work environment of remote and hybrid arrangements during and post-COVID-19 has led to increased studies examining digital connectivity and employee isolation (Kim, Lim, & Peng, 2021). For example, Angelova and Kim (2021) found that while digital workspaces increase flexibility, they can also reduce meaningful interpersonal interactions, thereby increasing emotional fatigue. However, this area remains under-theorised regarding sustainable connectivity models. Furthermore, leadership styles have been increasingly linked to employee loneliness. Transformational and servant leadership styles, studied by Mishra and Mohapatra (2019) and Golden (2006), can act as mediators in reducing isolation by fostering engagement, empathy, and inclusion. Despite these insights, few studies holistically connect leadership behaviour, workplace culture, and digital environments in shaping loneliness outcomes. The review of the literature identifies critical gaps: ( 1 ) insufficient mapping of influential authors and collaboration networks, ( 2 ) lack of integration between leadership behaviour, well-being, and digital transformation in loneliness literature, and ( 3 ) a need to identify emerging themes in this evolving domain. Based on the above background, the objectives of the research are as follows: To identify and analyse the intellectual and conceptual trends in global research on loneliness within management and organisational studies domains from 2000 to 2025. To examine the scholarly landscape by mapping the most influential authors, institutions, and journals contributing to loneliness research in management contexts, and to explore the patterns of scholarly collaboration among them. To investigate the key research streams and emerging focus areas related to loneliness in the workplace. 3. Research Methods The first step of the method was to develop the string for the search. After carefully reviewing the literature, we finalised the string, i.e. ("loneliness" OR "social isolation" OR "emotional isolation" OR "workplace loneliness" OR "digital loneliness") (All Fields) AND ("management" OR "organisational behaviour" OR "human resource*" OR "corporate policy" OR "leadership" OR "strategic management") (All Fields). The next step was to select the database to meet the study's objectives. We explored the Scopus and Web of Science databases. While evaluating the databases, we found that while Scopus hosted a larger number of documents, the quality of data and its integration with R Studio were inferior compared to Web of Science. Mainly, the scientific category data was absent in Scopus. This scientific category data is essential for conducting disciplinary mapping, field-normalised citation analysis, and understanding interdisciplinary contributions (Mongeon & Paul-Hus, 2016). Without scientific category data, it is impossible to perform analyses related to field-wise trends, normalisation, and interdisciplinarity, which may cause misleading results (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). Because of the Web of Science database's extensive information, strict journal inclusion standards, and interoperability with R-based tools like Bibliometrix, Aria and Cuccurullo (2017) and Falagas et al. (2008) also support its use. Significant topical relevance is ensured by its selective indexing, especially in the social sciences and psychology (Mongeon & Paul-Hus, 2016). Hence, we selected the Web of Science database for the study. We followed PRISMA guidelines to search and screen the data. We followed the PRISMA guidelines to search and screen the data. The search for data was conducted using the specified string on 28 June 2025 in the Web of Science database, and the flow chart is presented in Fig. 1 . In this study, we focused on research articles published in English from the year 2000 to 2025. This period was chosen due to the rise of digital workplaces and the increasing attention to psychosocial well-being. It also encompasses the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergence of hybrid work models. The relevant Web of Science category was utilised, aligning with the theme, while articles on medical science and other scientific subjects were excluded. After checking for duplicates, 940 documents were included for analysis. For performing the analysis, open source software RStudio was used, which uses an integrated development environment for R (RStudio Team, 2023). The study utilised the Bibliometrix package in RStudio to conduct bibliometric analysis (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). Under the bibliometrix package, Biblioshiny was used, which is a web interface that facilitates point-and-click analysis without requiring programming knowledge (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2022). 4. Results and Discussion 4.1.Descriptive Statistics The dataset on research related to loneliness spans from 2000 to 2025 and comprises 940 documents sourced from 418 journals, books, and other outlets. The research in this domain has been growing steadily, with an annual growth rate of 13.11%. On average, each document is 4.73 years old and has received approximately 17.73 citations, reflecting a moderately strong impact. The dataset includes a substantial number of references, totalling 52,130, indicating the depth and breadth of the scholarly work. In terms of content, there are 2,043 Keywords Plus and 2,748 Author's Keywords, suggesting a rich and diverse range of research themes and terminologies used by scholars. Table 1 shows that 3,498 authors have contributed to this body of work, of which 114 are authors of single-authored documents. There are 118 single-authored documents in total. Collaboration appears to be a key feature, with an average of 3.96 co-authors per document and 26.91% of the works involving international co-authorships, highlighting the global and collaborative nature of loneliness research. Regarding document types, the majority are journal articles (872), followed by a few book Chaps. ( 12 ), early access articles (50), proceedings papers ( 3 ), data papers ( 2 ), and even one retracted publication. This mix of document types underscores the academic interest and publication diversity in the study of loneliness. Table 1 Descriptive Main Information of the Bibliometric Dataset (2000–2025) Description Results Timespan 2000:2025 Sources (Journals, Books, etc.) 418 Documents 940 Annual Growth Rate % 13.11 Document Average Age 4.73 Average citations per doc 17.73 References 52130 DOCUMENT CONTENTS Keywords Plus (ID) 2043 Author's Keywords (DE) 2748 AUTHORS Authors 3498 Authors of single-authored docs 114 AUTHORS COLLABORATION Single-authored docs 118 Co-Authors per Doc 3.96 International co-authorships % 26.91 DOCUMENT TYPES article 872 article; book chapter 12 article; data paper 2 article; early access 50 article; proceedings paper 3 article; retracted publication 1 The initial aim of the study was to discover and examine the intellectual and conceptual currents in international research on loneliness in management and organisational studies fields between 2000 and 2025. This study explores the development of themes, chief terms, and conceptual clusters in research on loneliness in management, leadership, and organisational behaviour. The methodology employed is Co-word analysis, thematic mapping and evolution with Bibliometrix, and temporal keyword growth. 4.2.Annual Scientific Production Figure 2 shows the annual scientific production from 2000 to 2025, which shows a clear upward trend, indicating steady growth in research activity over the years. In the initial phase (2000–2009), the number of published articles remained relatively low, fluctuating between 1 and 10 articles annually, reflecting the nascent research stage in the field. From 2010 to 2016, there was a gradual increase, with annual publications rising from 6 to 21 articles. A significant surge began in 2017, marking the beginning of a more dynamic research period. The output grew from 30 articles in 2017 to 83 in 2020, followed by a dramatic peak in 2022 with 151 publications — the highest in the entire timespan. Although the number slightly declined to 111 in 2023, rose to 119 in 2024, and settled at 87 in 2025, it remained substantially higher than in earlier years. This growth pattern, supported by an annual growth rate of 13.11%, demonstrates increasing academic attention and investment in the research domain during these 25 years. 4.3.Most globally cited documents Figure 3 provides a comprehensive overview of influential scholarly contributions on the subjects of loneliness, health, and work, with a particular focus on how these themes intersect in professional settings such as the IT sector. By analysing citation counts, centrality measures, and network positioning, the data helps highlight the most impactful research shaping the discourse in this area. At the top of the list is the 2019 publication by Wood AJ in Work, Employment and Society. With 891 citations and particularly high centrality (127.29) and density (24.27) values, this publication is a seminal work in the domain of work-related psychosocial studies. Its citation profile indicates that it provides essential information regarding how workplace sociality is likely to be a factor that leads to feelings of loneliness, especially among professional groups. Some of the most important research is that of Golden TD's (2008) article in the Journal of Applied Psychology, with 435 citations, which addresses the psychological nature of work and working conditions for employees. Analogously, studies by Teo AR (2013) in PLOS ONE and Ozcelik H (2018) in the Academy of Management Journal have shed light on the subject of workplace stress and emotional health. Their high centrality and citation scores indicate the esteem their work enjoys in the discourse around emotional health in organisational settings. Recent research by Raza SA (2021) and Dzhambov AM (2021) represents a turn towards investigating the impact of technology-mediated labour and exposure to environmental pressure on mental well-being. These publications have gained considerable traction, especially regarding remote labour and digital exhaustion—topics that have gained even greater relevance following the pandemic, particularly in IT and tech-influenced working environments. What is of special interest is the inclusion of research from hospitality and public health disciplines. Work drawn from publications such as the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, written by scholars such as Bartoszek A, Chen K, and Yu R, indicates expanding interdisciplinary engagement with the topic. These pieces of research integrate knowledge on psychology, education, public health, and organisational behaviour to provide a comprehensive view of loneliness and its numerous precipitants. Scholars' Papers like PLOS ONE, Psychology & Marketing, and Disability & Rehabilitation also turn up regularly, suggesting that loneliness is not the domain of a single academic field. Instead, it is being investigated in diverse contexts—from tourism and healthcare to education and consumer behaviour—highlighting the theme's wide societal application. Overall, it is evident from this bibliometric analysis that loneliness is a highly complex research topic. The most salient studies traverse fields ranging from psychology to organisational studies, public health, and environmental research. For scholars studying loneliness in the IT industry today, drawing upon this varied and expanding body of literature is necessary to construct an informed understanding drawn from both theory and practice. The study's second aim was to explore the academic landscape by analysing the most impactful authors, institutions, and journals published on loneliness in management research contexts and investigating their collaboration patterns. The aim is to reveal the field's social structure, tracing how scholars, institutions, and nations cooperate and which institutions control the research output. The method used Co-authorship and country collaboration networks, Source impact (Bradford's Law) and Citation analysis (journals and authors) 4.4.Most Relevant Author- Figure 4 presents a bibliometric analysis of authors researching loneliness in the IT sector, showing the total number of articles authored and their fractional contributions (which adjust for co-authorship). The most prolific contributors include Dattilo J (7 articles), Brown L, Dor-Haim P, and Guilcher SJT (each with five articles). Notably, Dor-Haim P has the highest fractionalised score (4.00), indicating significant individual authorship, while others, like Guilcher SJT, have lower fractional scores (0.81), suggesting a collaborative publication style. The dataset includes over 200 contributors, but most authors appear only once or twice, showing that while many are interested in the topic, a relatively small core group drives the majority of scholarly output. The data highlights the collaborative nature of this research field, with most authors working in multidisciplinary teams. Low fractionalised scores for many contributors point to a high level of co-authorship, likely involving experts from sociology, psychology, organisational behaviour, and IT. This trend reflects the complex, intersectional nature of loneliness in tech-driven environments. Overall, the dataset illustrates both the growing academic engagement with the subject and opportunities for future research, primarily through partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Loneliness in IT is an emerging, multidisciplinary topic attracting global academic attention. A small group of researchers drives much of the core scholarship, while others occasionally contribute. The high degree of collaboration suggests that the issue is complex, often requiring m ulti-expert perspectives (e.g., mental health, workplace dynamics, digital communication). 4.5.Author production over time Figure 5 illustrates the publication trends and scholarly impact of authors over time on the topic of loneliness in the IT sector. Authors like Brown L show early and consistent contributions, with their most impactful work appearing in 2008 and 2014, achieving high total citations (TC) of 111 and 89, respectively, and a peak TC per year (TCpY) of 7.417 in 2014. Similarly, Guilcher SJT and Hitzig SL have demonstrated firm and recent productivity, particularly in 2021 and 2022, with high TCpY values (up to 11.75), indicating that their research has been both current and influential. Authors such as Cimino, SR, and Craven, BC also follow this pattern, contributing multiple times in recent years with impactful publications, as seen from consistently high TC and TCpY values. On the other hand, authors like Angelova M and Kim S have had more recent publications but relatively low citation impact, as indicated by low or zero TC and TCpY scores in years like 2023–2025. Some contributors, like Dor-Haim P, maintain moderate influence with a balanced output and TCpY scores peaking at 5.8. The data reveals a general upward trend in scholarly activity in recent years, especially post-2020, with newer contributors joining the discourse and established scholars maintaining strong citation performance. This points to growing academic interest and the subject's relevance in contemporary contexts. 4.6.Most Locally cited author- Figure 6 highlights the most locally cited authors used in loneliness studies. Barsade SG and Ozcelik H are the most influential authors, with 49 local citations. Their impressive citation numbers indicate that their research has significantly impacted the scholarly debate regarding loneliness, possibly through underlying theories, empirical findings, or influential models. Next are Lam LW and Lau DC(2012), with 36 citations, and Silard A and Wright S, cited 30 times, showing their long-lasting contribution to the field. Other contributed sources include Kim YK, Lim CM, and Peng J, all cited 20 times, reflecting their relevance and scholarly contribution. The diversity of authors with citations between 6 and 19, for example, Anand P, Golden TD, Mishra SK, and Chen YS, reflects a diverse and productive research community investigating the multifold aspects of loneliness. This citation trend emphasises a robust academic base, where influential authors serve as intellectual pillars in the continuous academic discourse regarding loneliness. 4.7.Affiliation over time Figure 7 shows the evolving research contributions on loneliness from various academic institutions over time. The University of Toronto stands out prominently as the most consistent and prolific contributor, beginning with a modest one article per year from 2000 to 2012, followed by a significant surge in output from 2013 onwards. By 2025, the university had published 80 articles, reflecting its sustained and growing focus on loneliness as a research theme. In contrast, institutions like the State University System of Florida and the University of California System began contributing meaningfully around 2007, gradually increasing their output to 22 and 27 articles by 2025. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM System) joined the discourse more recently, with PCSHE making notable contributions from 2017 and IIM from 2018. Both institutions showed promising growth, with the IIM System publishing 21 articles annually by 2023 and sustaining that rate through 2025. This trend indicates a global widening academic interest in loneliness research, with the University of Toronto maintaining a leading role. At the same time, other institutions increasingly recognise and contribute to this critical study area. 4.8.Most relevant affiliation The University of Toronto is the most significant and applicable connection to loneliness studies, with 80 research articles published—well ahead of other institutions worldwide (Fig. 8 ). This recognition is a result of the university's firm interdisciplinary framework, bringing together knowledge from psychology, public health, sociology, gerontology, and digital health. Its partnership with premier research and healthcare institutions, including the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University Health Network, no doubt enhances its research contributions, especially on issues such as ageing, social isolation, mental illness, and the effects of technology on interpersonal relationships. The fact that the institution is spearheading this effort attests to its excellence in learning and its fundamental mission of spearheading solutions grounded in evidence for ending loneliness in contemporary societies. 4.9.Countries' production over time Figure 9 illustrates the growth in research article production on the topic of loneliness from the year 2000 to 2025 across five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and China. The overall trend shows a significant global increase in academic interest in loneliness, especially after 2015, with a remarkable surge between 2020 and 2025. This growth coincides with heightened awareness of mental health issues, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital isolation, and demographic changes such as ageing populations and urban migration. The United States leads in the volume of research output, beginning with just four articles in 2000 and reaching a projected 649 by 2025, indicating strong research infrastructure and prioritisation of mental health issues. The United Kingdom has shown steady and consistent growth, increasing from one article in 2000 to 200 in 2025, reflecting a sustained policy and academic interest in social well-being. Canada's growth was modest until 2012 but accelerated sharply thereafter, culminating in 211 articles by 2025. Australia began contributing in 2006 and experienced gradual growth, producing 171 articles by 2025. Notably absent from the research landscape until 2011, China exhibited the most dramatic rise—from two articles in 2011 to 418 in 2025—highlighting its rapid emergence as a key player in global research. Overall, the data signals a global shift in scholarly focus toward loneliness as a pressing social and psychological issue, with exponential growth in research output reflecting its increasing relevance in contemporary societies. 4.10.Most relevant countries Figure 10 highlights the most relevant countries contributing to research on loneliness based on the number of published articles, their share of global output, and the nature of international collaboration. The United States stands out as the leading contributor, accounting for 20.6% of the total articles (194), with a majority being single-country publications (SCP = 161) and only 17% involving multiple-country collaboration (MCP = 33). China follows with 142 articles (15.1%) and a relatively higher MCP percentage (28.2%), indicating a stronger emphasis on international research partnerships. The United Kingdom, with 75 articles (8%), shows a balanced research output and collaboration pattern, as nearly 31% of its publications are co-authored with other countries. Australia and Canada also contribute significantly, with 52 (5.5%) and 45 (4.8%) articles, respectively, showing notable MCP percentages of 26.9% and 31.1%. India, while close behind with 43 articles (4.6%), has a low MCP percentage (9.3%), suggesting limited international collaboration. Countries such as Korea (54.2%), Belgium (66.7%), New Zealand (80%), and Switzerland (80%) exhibit high MCP percentages despite smaller article counts, indicating a strong tendency for cross-border academic partnerships. Notably, nations like South Africa, Portugal, and Romania contribute entirely through domestic efforts with zero international collaborations. Other emerging contributors, such as Brazil, Israel, Germany, and the Netherlands, have moderate levels of output and collaboration. While the USA leads in sheer volume, countries like China, the UK, and Canada show balanced contributions with a growing emphasis on global collaboration. Smaller nations often compensate for limited output with higher MCP percentages, underlining loneliness research's global and cooperative nature. 4.11 Sources According to the number of articles published, the most appropriate source in the field is the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, with 98 articles (Fig. 11 ). The large number indicates the journal's pivotal position in the publication of research about public health concerns of loneliness, social isolation, mental well-being, and related psychosocial and environmental issues. It has a strong interdisciplinary bent, integrating health sciences, psychology, sociology, and environmental studies perspectives. The visibility of this journal indicates that much of the academic discussion of loneliness and its effects is rooted in a public health tradition, focusing not just on the psychological aspects but on the larger societal and ecological context. Subsequently, PLOS ONE and Scientific Reports also came to the fore, suggesting that open-access, multidisciplinary journals are central outlets for research communication in this field. Figure 12 provides a Sankey diagram that illustrates relationships between cited references (CR), authors (AU), and keywords or research descriptors (DE) in loneliness studies. On the left (CR), core and most-cited studies are presented, including Weiss (1973) on the experience of loneliness, Cacioppo et al. (2008) on the biological nature of loneliness, and Russell (1980) on scales for measuring loneliness. The middle column (AU) features leading authors such as Dor-Haim, Dattilo, and Hitzig,(2023) who have made important contributions to the area and expanded on the original investigations. Towards the right (DE), the most important thematic categories are illustrated, with the primary descriptors being "loneliness," "social isolation," and "social support," reflecting the core emphasis in most studies. Other topics like "older adults," "COVID-19," "rehabilitation," "ageing," and "depression" also emerge, demonstrating a multidisciplinary focus. The direction of links shows how powerful references have constructed the writing of prominent authors and how those publications, in turn, generate specific research fields. This visualisation highlights loneliness studies' progression and thematic organisation, tracing knowledge evolution between sources, contributors, and topics. The research's third goal was to examine the major research streams and new focus areas connected with workplace loneliness. The goal is to identify existing and future research directions, emphasising pragmatic themes applicable to corporate well-being strategies, hybrid work patterns, and employee commitment. The methods used are thematic evolution analysis, Bibliographic coupling and trend topic detection. 4.12.Cluster Analysis The data offers important insights into how loneliness is experienced by professionals working in the IT sector, highlighting its connections with various workplace dynamics. The themes are grouped into three clusters, each revealing a distinct dimension of the issue (Fig. 13 ). The most recurrent in the data (131 times) is the first cluster that associates loneliness with lower job satisfaction and overall decreased influence in the workplace. Moderately central (0.395), but with an impact score of 1.978, this theme shows it is experienced extensively among IT professionals, implying that emotions of isolation can significantly impact how employees feel about their role and contribution to an organisation. The second cluster, though marginally less frequent (96 occurrences), is the most central and influential theme, obtaining the highest scores for centrality (0.442) and influence (3.395). The cluster relates feelings of loneliness to organisational expansion and employee performance, implying that employees are likely to feel more isolated as IT companies expand or restructure. Such organisational changes can disturb the cohesion of teams or restrict social interaction, possibly decreasing productivity and employee morale. The third category, although referred to least frequently (23 times) and with the smallest centrality score (0.251), calls attention to a similarly important area: the interrelation of loneliness, health issues, and organisational reforms. Although it is less highlighted in frequency, the topic discusses how employees subject to structural change without adequate support can undergo not just emotional but also physical distress. Together, these trends highlight the complex nature of loneliness in the IT industry. It is not only a personal problem but also one that crosses over into organisational design, employee satisfaction, and health. The results suggest the imperative for holistic interventions—ones that address individual experience as well as the general workplace context. 4.13. Co-occurrence Network The bibliometric map, which is a thematic cluster map, points out three major areas of study that are different but interlinked: work, health, and loneliness (Fig. 14 ). These clusters are derived from the co-occurrence of keywords in academic scholarship and indicate how scholars are focusing on studying loneliness in different social environments. The initial and most salient cluster, "Loneliness," constitutes the theoretical core of the research environment. It contains commonly employed dimensions like loneliness, impact, stress, satisfaction, and social support. It addresses loneliness as both an emotional and behavioural concern, usually correlated with indices of mental health such as stress, self-esteem, and difficulty adjusting. Most striking is the mounting frequency of digital-related keywords like technology, internet usage, and social media, signalling an expanding scholarly concern with the way virtual spaces define isolation experiences. Keywords like scale, model, and validity also imply a robust methodological bias, especially in terms of estimating and theorising loneliness, with a particular interest in groups such as university students and teens. The second cluster, "Health," identifies the serious and widespread health implications of loneliness and social isolation. This cluster contains words such as depression, mental health, older adults, quality of life, and support. The cluster highlights the interrelations between loneliness and a variety of health problems, including mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, and physical effects such as cognitive impairment and enhanced mortality risk. The use of words like intervention, resilience, prevalence, and risk factors indicates that this corpus of work is not merely descriptive but solution-focused, seeking to inform public health responses in the form of specific programs, clinical interventions, and policy-level responses. The third cluster, "Work," considers loneliness at the intersection with the workplace and organisational life. It contains such words as work, performance, engagement, burnout, and job satisfaction, indicating an increased recognition of loneliness's influence on worker well-being and organisational performance. Other keywords—leadership, identity, commitment, and professional isolation—track deeper interpersonal and structural forces at work in workplaces. Most germane to this are words such as telework, job demands, and life balance that refer to the new work landscape since the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it has changed social connections—or lack thereof—between employees. All three clusters—loneliness, health, and work—sustain a holistic perspective on how loneliness is being researched within various aspects of life. From mental health at the individual level to more general public health concerns and workplace issues, it is evident from the analysis that loneliness is a matter of urgency with far-reaching social implications. 5. Conclusion In the era of globalisation and the process of digitalisation, loneliness has grown into a significant research topic in the field of organisation and management. The acute issue of mental health in the workplace following COVID-19 grew into a significant research area. The research aims to discover and examine the intellectual and conceptual trends; to scrutinise the academic environment by charting the most influential writers, institutions, and journals that make research contributions on loneliness issues in management contexts, and to investigate the collaboration patterns of research between them and to explore the primary research streams and emerging areas of focus on loneliness in the workplace. After a proper literature investigation from the Scopus and Web of Science databases was performed, following PRISMA guidelines. The research employed the Bibliometrix package, Biblioshiny, to analyse bibliometrics. This research maps and explores the intellectual and conceptual horizon of loneliness studies in management and organisational studies for 2000–2025 using sophisticated bibliometric methods. The corpus consists of 940 documents which portray the growing and collaborative nature of loneliness scholarship, characterised by consistent increase, high scholarly activity, and broad thematic representation. Its depth and scope reflect the rising worldwide academic concern with loneliness across disciplines. The consistent increase in yearly scientific output between 2000 and 2025 is evidence of a strong and consistent increase in scholarly interest and investment in the study of loneliness in management and organisational studies. The analysis identifies that studies on loneliness in the workplace—particularly in the IT industry—borrow from a rich, multidisciplinary corpus of highly cited and impactful studies across the fields of psychology, organisational behaviour, and public health. Increased integration among multiple fields points to the complexity of workplace loneliness and researchers' need to draw upon this broad intellectual base. The research suggests that research on loneliness in the IT field is motivated by an active but small core group of researchers with support from extensive, multidisciplinary engagement. This points to both the complexity of the subject and the necessity of ongoing cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop the field. The research indicates that leading writers such as Brown L, Guilcher SJT, and Hitzig SL(2020) have continuously contributed to IT-related research on loneliness. The ongoing emergence of new authors and persistent citation output of veteran researchers confirms the field's increasing relevance and scholarly momentum. The citation data emphasises a robust academic foundation informed by extremely influential writers such as Barsade SG and Ozcelik H (2012), whose writing frames the contemporary scholarly debate on loneliness. The data indicates that the University of Toronto dominates sustained research on loneliness. At the same time, emerging contributions from institutions such as PCSHE and IIM emphasise the increasing global academic attention on this theme. There is a striking worldwide upsurge in loneliness studies between 2000 and 2025, led by nations such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and China's fast rise after 2011. The upsurge corresponds with increased worldwide concern over loneliness as a pressing mental and social issue in today's world. Though the USA is at the pinnacle of loneliness research productivity, nations such as China, the UK, and Canada have a more significant proportion of international collaborations. These countries with lower publication volumes typically make up for it with high cross-border collaborations, evincing loneliness research's global and collaborative nature. The dominance of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health highlights the discipline's firm public health and inter-disciplinary focus, with open-access titles such as PLOS ONE and Scientific Reports also being major outlets for loneliness research. Overall, the evidence indicates that loneliness in IT professionals directly connects to job satisfaction, organisational transformation, and employee well-being, uncovering its extensive involvement with workplace processes. These findings emphasise the importance of integrated approaches that speak to both personal welfare and organisational systems. Loneliness studies cover three highly interrelated domains—emotional and behavioural aspects, health consequences, and work environment—each of which speaks to the complexity of the topic. Collectively, these clusters emphasise that loneliness is an urgent issue with far-reaching implications for individuals, public health, and organisational life. 6. Limitations of the study This study acknowledges a few limitations that may affect the interpretation of the findings. First, the analysis exclusively relied on the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database, as Scopus could not provide the Science Category data in this study, which was essential for thematic clustering and disciplinary classification within bibliometric analyses. Although WoS offers high-quality and curated content, the exclusion of Scopus may have led to the omission of relevant articles, which may narrow the scope of the intellectual landscape. Second, the articles published on the WoS were available in English only. The language bias may fail to accommodate the diversity of theoretical perspectives on workplace loneliness. Declarations CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT We have no conflict of interest to declare. DISCLOSURE We disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could be viewed as inappropriately influencing (bias) our study. Ethics Approval This study did not require ethical approval as it is based solely on bibliometric data retrieved from a publicly available database and does not involve human participants, personal data, or animal subjects. Funding The authors received no specific funding for this research. Author Contribution The authors declare the following individual contributions: The authors made distinct contributions to this research work. Vijay Kumar Pandey conceptualised and conducted the technical analysis using R Studio, which included performing bibliometric analysis, generating strategic diagrams and trend topic visualisations, conducting thematic mapping and cluster analysis, and creating data visualisations to illustrate research themes and their temporal evolution. Madhuri focused on the writing and interpretation aspects, analysing and interpreting the strategic diagram results, identifying and categorising research themes into different categories, providing detailed analysis of trend topics and their evolution over time, and synthesising all findings into a coherent research narrative. All authors have read and approved the final work. DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT The data supporting this study's findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. References Angelova M, Kim S (2021) Remote work and employee mental health. J Organizational Psychol 21(2):45–57 Aria M, Cuccurullo C (2017) Bibliometrix: An R tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis.Journal of Informetrics, 11 (4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007 Aria M, Cuccurullo C (2022) Biblioshiny for Bibliometrix [R package GUI]. https://www.bibliometrix.org Barsade SG, Ozcelik H (2012) Work loneliness and employee performance. Acad Manag J 55(1):61–88. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0564 Brown L, Guilcher SJT, Hitzig SL (2020) Loneliness as a workplace issue. J Occup Rehabil 30(3):382–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-020-09877-1 Dor-Haim P, Wright S (2023) Digital communication and loneliness in virtual teams. Inf Manag 60(1):103611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2022.103611 Falagas ME, Pitsouni EI, Malietzis GA, Pappas G (2008) Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, web of science, and Google scholar: strengths and weaknesses. FASEB J 22(2):338–342 Golden TD (2006) The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter effectiveness. J Organizational Behav 27(3):319–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.369 Golden TD, Veiga JF, Dino RN (2008) The impact of professional isolation on teleworker job performance and turnover intentions. J Appl Psychol 93(6):1412–1421. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012722 Kim YK, Lim CM, Peng J (2021) Loneliness in virtual environments. J Bus Psychol 36(4):789–806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09716-4 Lam LW, Lau DC (2012) Feeling lonely at work: investigating the consequences of unsatisfactory workplace relationships. Int J Hum Resource Manage 23(20):4265–4282. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.665070 Mishra SK, Mohapatra S (2019) Telework and psychological detachment. Hum Resource Manage Rev 29(4):100695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.06.003 Mongeon P, Paul-Hus A (2016) The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics 106(1):213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1765-5 Ozcelik H, Barsade SG (2018) No employee an island: Workplace loneliness and job performance. Acad Manag J 61(6):2343–2366. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.1061 RStudio Team (2023) RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R (Version 2023.x). Posit Software, PBC. https://posit.co/ Silard A, Wright S (2020) The connection syndrome: Loneliness in modern organisations. Manage Res Rev 43(5):607–623. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2019-0313 Weiss RS (1973) Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. MIT Press Wright S, Silard A (2020) Connectedness and employee well-being: A review of literature. J Organizational Cult Commun Confl 24(1):1–13 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files BibliometrixExportFile20250620.xlsx RawData.txt Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 May, 2026 Read the published version in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 27 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 14 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 24 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 05 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":71584,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMost Global Cited Documents\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/4a55b6bd3ff7407ac7b13b49.jpg"},{"id":100693862,"identity":"02a19ac4-638d-4fe1-a84b-20d4fd9e56f2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:35:59","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":94867,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMost relevant Author\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/f1b9c7d44cb7347908b34977.jpg"},{"id":100693926,"identity":"c6907f52-ea55-49b1-9277-2be81a127868","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:23","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":53687,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAuthor production over time\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/043a568cf14dc0df1edacb3d.jpg"},{"id":100693962,"identity":"1ae1c1b2-b68c-4e72-b047-59d2a8aafe3c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:41","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":63600,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMost Local Cited Authors\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/fffd29d02e52f0672db90b27.jpg"},{"id":100693860,"identity":"2b9cecaa-33ea-41cc-970f-559dc2e0b544","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:35:57","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":96376,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAffiliations Production over time\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/75891c18842c6c0ef3b7d8aa.jpg"},{"id":100693920,"identity":"cde5956e-8f99-46f9-acd6-08acbc1ecd58","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:17","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":67218,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMost Relevant Authors\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/7a863832cabd4833f2c06e8d.jpg"},{"id":100693967,"identity":"1a175c9e-c3a5-4699-8c84-402da93e5846","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:45","extension":"jpg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":87849,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCountry Production over time\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture9.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/4cc5421120a33343c223a422.jpg"},{"id":100693893,"identity":"129bc18c-d82a-45b1-85b8-240ddfbd8164","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:36:37","extension":"jpg","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":96731,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCorresponding Author Countries\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture10.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/586a17e6e5d567f7eadcb0df.jpg"},{"id":100693909,"identity":"50aa2f87-5d2e-48ea-9641-878ef8564150","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:05","extension":"jpg","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":68576,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMost RelevantSankey diagram that illustrates relationships between cited references (CR), authors (AU), and keywords or research descriptors (DE) in loneliness studiesSources\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture11.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/12dabe73d30e337089bbeeb2.jpg"},{"id":100693901,"identity":"b84399ea-11d9-465a-9787-4fd37553836d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:36:51","extension":"jpg","order_by":12,"title":"Figure 12","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":174669,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSankey diagram that illustrates relationships between cited references (CR), authors (AU), and keywords or research descriptors (DE) in loneliness studies\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture12.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/48fc0e4987bfee88c258a6b6.jpg"},{"id":100693925,"identity":"36b9b339-fca2-481b-8f12-407cb3184448","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:22","extension":"jpg","order_by":13,"title":"Figure 13","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":51246,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCluster Analysis\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture13.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/19a071be9b88cd0cefdcc2db.jpg"},{"id":100693919,"identity":"0efffc53-1715-4701-9fa4-d34aec5a6292","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:16","extension":"jpg","order_by":14,"title":"Figure 14","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":45909,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCo-occurrence of keywords\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture14.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/607aa625d0659f3d89024f35.jpg"},{"id":108804166,"identity":"2bed8c9b-6c26-47a1-a8a1-6f1faf8a9c95","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:16:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1521893,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/fbe67b46-f15a-40c0-836c-539975fd8c0a.pdf"},{"id":100693963,"identity":"484992fe-d7fb-4a91-b20e-045f8f12c132","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:37:42","extension":"xlsx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2981650,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BibliometrixExportFile20250620.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/208a7ec59cf6931e76e7796c.xlsx"},{"id":100694050,"identity":"99076fe7-582e-4ad9-8dbf-fb1d9e0b2d23","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-20 14:39:17","extension":"txt","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":7816391,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RawData.txt","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7275428/v1/b0a5036364dc110cecf9ee46.txt"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Workplace Loneliness Through the Lens of Management Research: A Bibliometric and Thematic Exploration","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn Hindu philosophy, ancient texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata illustrate instances where loneliness is intricately linked to spiritual isolation, meditation, and the pursuit of enlightenment. It was taken as a positive aspect of that, and it was suggested to go for vanprastha ( retirement from all worldly responsibilities and moving to the forest) after the age of 50. Even the kings were going to vanaprastha in the quest for spiritual fulfilment. In literature, the poets and writers elevated loneliness to prominence in the Romantic and Victorian periods. Thomas Hardy and Emily Dickinson were the key contributors. They described loneliness as a mental state influenced further by industrialisation and individualism (Mijuskovic, 2012). The groundwork for empirical research on loneliness was laid by Weiss (1973), who differentiated between emotional loneliness, defined as the absence of intimate relationships, and social loneliness, which arises from a lack of broader social connections.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the 21st century, as globalisation and digitalisation progressed, loneliness emerged in a new avatar ( incarnation) as a significant area of inquiry within organisational and management studies. Notably, research focusing on remote work environments, leadership dynamics, and employee well-being has illustrated that loneliness prominently impacts workplace morale, productivity, and employee retention\u0026mdash;findings supported by the works of Barsade and Ozcelik (2012) and Golden et al. (2008). The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified the imperative to address mental health and foster inclusive workspaces.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistical evidence underscores the growing public health concern related to loneliness. According to the World Health Organisation (2021), one in three older adults reports experiencing loneliness, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Cigna (Murthy, 2020) indicated that 61% of employees in the United States reported feelings of loneliness within the workplace. Given this backdrop, there is a pressing need for a bibliometric and thematic exploration of workplace loneliness from management perspectives, aimed at enriching the understanding of this multifaceted phenomenon and developing strategies to mitigate its adverse effects on individuals and organisations alike.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature Review","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn India, the tradition of vanaprastha, as suggested by ancient texts like the Vedas, advocates that after age 50, individuals should relinquish their family responsibilities and retire to the forest to spend the remainder of their lives. During this period, they focus on meditation and spiritual practices. Historically, many saints lived in the forest to gain knowledge; for instance, Lord Buddha attained enlightenment alone in Bodh Gaya, India. Loneliness, which is a significant concern today, was once considered a psychosocial issue. The impact of loneliness on productivity, workplace dynamics, and employee well-being led authors to treat loneliness as a critical domain in organisational research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthors like Ozcelik \u0026amp; Barsade (2018) and Wright \u0026amp; Silard (2020) emphasised that loneliness affects individuals and significantly impacts structural and managerial challenges in modern organisations. One of the most influential authors, Barsade and Ozcelik (2012), suggested using emotional culture to minimise workplace loneliness and enhance performance. Lau (2012) was able to link feelings of loneliness to leadership styles and specifically suggested that intelligent leadership can be helpful in reducing perceived social isolation. Brown, Guilcher, and Hitzig (2020) have created the foundation to connect workplace structures with loneliness-related outcomes. The key Institute contributors in this domain are the University of Toronto, the State University System of Florida and the University of California. The literature still lacks comprehensive bibliometric analyses that map co-authorship patterns and institutional collaboration networks, highlighting the need to chart the intellectual structure of this field (Aria \u0026amp; Cuccurullo, 2017).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of conceptual streams, research on workplace loneliness intersects multiple areas. Scholars like Silard and Wright (2020) have emphasised the emotional impact of organisational culture and peer relationships. The new work environment of remote and hybrid arrangements during and post-COVID-19 has led to increased studies examining digital connectivity and employee isolation (Kim, Lim, \u0026amp; Peng, 2021). For example, Angelova and Kim (2021) found that while digital workspaces increase flexibility, they can also reduce meaningful interpersonal interactions, thereby increasing emotional fatigue. However, this area remains under-theorised regarding sustainable connectivity models.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, leadership styles have been increasingly linked to employee loneliness. Transformational and servant leadership styles, studied by Mishra and Mohapatra (2019) and Golden (2006), can act as mediators in reducing isolation by fostering engagement, empathy, and inclusion. Despite these insights, few studies holistically connect leadership behaviour, workplace culture, and digital environments in shaping loneliness outcomes. The review of the literature identifies critical gaps: (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) insufficient mapping of influential authors and collaboration networks, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) lack of integration between leadership behaviour, well-being, and digital transformation in loneliness literature, and (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e) a need to identify emerging themes in this evolving domain. Based on the above background, the objectives of the research are as follows:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo identify and analyse the intellectual and conceptual trends in global research on loneliness within management and organisational studies domains from 2000 to 2025.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo examine the scholarly landscape by mapping the most influential authors, institutions, and journals contributing to loneliness research in management contexts, and to explore the patterns of scholarly collaboration among them.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo investigate the key research streams and emerging focus areas related to loneliness in the workplace.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"3. Research Methods","content":" \u003cp\u003eThe first step of the method was to develop the string for the search. After carefully reviewing the literature, we finalised the string, i.e. (\"loneliness\" OR \"social isolation\" OR \"emotional isolation\" OR \"workplace loneliness\" OR \"digital loneliness\") (All Fields) AND (\"management\" OR \"organisational behaviour\" OR \"human resource*\" OR \"corporate policy\" OR \"leadership\" OR \"strategic management\") (All Fields). The next step was to select the database to meet the study's objectives. We explored the Scopus and Web of Science databases. While evaluating the databases, we found that while Scopus hosted a larger number of documents, the quality of data and its integration with R Studio were inferior compared to Web of Science. Mainly, the scientific category data was absent in Scopus. This scientific category data is essential for conducting disciplinary mapping, field-normalised citation analysis, and understanding interdisciplinary contributions (Mongeon \u0026amp; Paul-Hus, 2016). Without scientific category data, it is impossible to perform analyses related to field-wise trends, normalisation, and interdisciplinarity, which may cause misleading results (Aria \u0026amp; Cuccurullo, 2017). Because of the Web of Science database's extensive information, strict journal inclusion standards, and interoperability with R-based tools like Bibliometrix, Aria and Cuccurullo (2017) and Falagas et al. (2008) also support its use. Significant topical relevance is ensured by its selective indexing, especially in the social sciences and psychology (Mongeon \u0026amp; Paul-Hus, 2016). Hence, we selected the Web of Science database for the study. We followed PRISMA guidelines to search and screen the data. We followed the PRISMA guidelines to search and screen the data. The search for data was conducted using the specified string on 28 June 2025 in the Web of Science database, and the flow chart is presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, we focused on research articles published in English from the year 2000 to 2025. This period was chosen due to the rise of digital workplaces and the increasing attention to psychosocial well-being. It also encompasses the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergence of hybrid work models. The relevant Web of Science category was utilised, aligning with the theme, while articles on medical science and other scientific subjects were excluded. After checking for duplicates, 940 documents were included for analysis. For performing the analysis, open source software RStudio was used, which uses an integrated development environment for R (RStudio Team, 2023). The study utilised the Bibliometrix package in RStudio to conduct bibliometric analysis (Aria \u0026amp; Cuccurullo, 2017). Under the bibliometrix package, Biblioshiny was used, which is a web interface that facilitates point-and-click analysis without requiring programming knowledge (Aria \u0026amp; Cuccurullo, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Results and Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1.Descriptive Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe dataset on research related to loneliness spans from 2000 to 2025 and comprises 940 documents sourced from 418 journals, books, and other outlets. The research in this domain has been growing steadily, with an annual growth rate of 13.11%. On average, each document is 4.73 years old and has received approximately 17.73 citations, reflecting a moderately strong impact. The dataset includes a substantial number of references, totalling 52,130, indicating the depth and breadth of the scholarly work.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of content, there are 2,043 Keywords Plus and 2,748 Author's Keywords, suggesting a rich and diverse range of research themes and terminologies used by scholars. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows that 3,498 authors have contributed to this body of work, of which 114 are authors of single-authored documents. There are 118 single-authored documents in total. Collaboration appears to be a key feature, with an average of 3.96 co-authors per document and 26.91% of the works involving international co-authorships, highlighting the global and collaborative nature of loneliness research. Regarding document types, the majority are journal articles (872), followed by a few book Chaps.\u0026nbsp;(\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e), early access articles (50), proceedings papers (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e), data papers (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e), and even one retracted publication. This mix of document types underscores the academic interest and publication diversity in the study of loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive Main Information of the Bibliometric Dataset (2000\u0026ndash;2025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescription\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTimespan\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2000:2025\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSources (Journals, Books, etc.)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e418\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDocuments\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e940\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnnual Growth Rate %\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDocument Average Age\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAverage citations per doc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52130\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDOCUMENT CONTENTS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKeywords Plus (ID)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthor's Keywords (DE)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2748\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAUTHORS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3498\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthors of single-authored docs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e114\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAUTHORS COLLABORATION\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle-authored docs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e118\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCo-Authors per Doc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInternational co-authorships %\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDOCUMENT TYPES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e872\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle; book chapter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle; data paper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle; early access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle; proceedings paper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003earticle; retracted publication\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe initial aim of the study was to discover and examine the intellectual and conceptual currents in international research on loneliness in management and organisational studies fields between 2000 and 2025. This study explores the development of themes, chief terms, and conceptual clusters in research on loneliness in management, leadership, and organisational behaviour. The methodology employed is Co-word analysis, thematic mapping and evolution with Bibliometrix, and temporal keyword growth.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2.Annual Scientific Production\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e shows the annual scientific production from 2000 to 2025, which shows a clear upward trend, indicating steady growth in research activity over the years. In the initial phase (2000\u0026ndash;2009), the number of published articles remained relatively low, fluctuating between 1 and 10 articles annually, reflecting the nascent research stage in the field. From 2010 to 2016, there was a gradual increase, with annual publications rising from 6 to 21 articles. A significant surge began in 2017, marking the beginning of a more dynamic research period. The output grew from 30 articles in 2017 to 83 in 2020, followed by a dramatic peak in 2022 with 151 publications \u0026mdash; the highest in the entire timespan. Although the number slightly declined to 111 in 2023, rose to 119 in 2024, and settled at 87 in 2025, it remained substantially higher than in earlier years. This growth pattern, supported by an annual growth rate of 13.11%, demonstrates increasing academic attention and investment in the research domain during these 25 years.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3.Most globally cited documents\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e provides a comprehensive overview of influential scholarly contributions on the subjects of loneliness, health, and work, with a particular focus on how these themes intersect in professional settings such as the IT sector. By analysing citation counts, centrality measures, and network positioning, the data helps highlight the most impactful research shaping the discourse in this area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the top of the list is the 2019 publication by Wood AJ in Work, Employment and Society. With 891 citations and particularly high centrality (127.29) and density (24.27) values, this publication is a seminal work in the domain of work-related psychosocial studies. Its citation profile indicates that it provides essential information regarding how workplace sociality is likely to be a factor that leads to feelings of loneliness, especially among professional groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSome of the most important research is that of Golden TD's (2008) article in the Journal of Applied Psychology, with 435 citations, which addresses the psychological nature of work and working conditions for employees. Analogously, studies by Teo AR (2013) in PLOS ONE and Ozcelik H (2018) in the Academy of Management Journal have shed light on the subject of workplace stress and emotional health. Their high centrality and citation scores indicate the esteem their work enjoys in the discourse around emotional health in organisational settings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecent research by Raza SA (2021) and Dzhambov AM (2021) represents a turn towards investigating the impact of technology-mediated labour and exposure to environmental pressure on mental well-being. These publications have gained considerable traction, especially regarding remote labour and digital exhaustion\u0026mdash;topics that have gained even greater relevance following the pandemic, particularly in IT and tech-influenced working environments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is of special interest is the inclusion of research from hospitality and public health disciplines. Work drawn from publications such as the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, written by scholars such as Bartoszek A, Chen K, and Yu R, indicates expanding interdisciplinary engagement with the topic. These pieces of research integrate knowledge on psychology, education, public health, and organisational behaviour to provide a comprehensive view of loneliness and its numerous precipitants. Scholars' Papers like PLOS ONE, Psychology \u0026amp; Marketing, and Disability \u0026amp; Rehabilitation also turn up regularly, suggesting that loneliness is not the domain of a single academic field. Instead, it is being investigated in diverse contexts\u0026mdash;from tourism and healthcare to education and consumer behaviour\u0026mdash;highlighting the theme's wide societal application. Overall, it is evident from this bibliometric analysis that loneliness is a highly complex research topic. The most salient studies traverse fields ranging from psychology to organisational studies, public health, and environmental research. For scholars studying loneliness in the IT industry today, drawing upon this varied and expanding body of literature is necessary to construct an informed understanding drawn from both theory and practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study's second aim was to explore the academic landscape by analysing the most impactful authors, institutions, and journals published on loneliness in management research contexts and investigating their collaboration patterns. The aim is to reveal the field's social structure, tracing how scholars, institutions, and nations cooperate and which institutions control the research output. The method used Co-authorship and country collaboration networks, Source impact (Bradford's Law) and Citation analysis (journals and authors)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.4.Most Relevant Author-\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e presents a bibliometric analysis of authors researching loneliness in the IT sector, showing the total number of articles authored and their fractional contributions (which adjust for co-authorship). The most prolific contributors include Dattilo J (7 articles), Brown L, Dor-Haim P, \u003cb\u003eand\u003c/b\u003e Guilcher SJT (each with five articles). Notably, Dor-Haim P has the highest fractionalised score (4.00), indicating significant individual authorship, while others, like Guilcher SJT, have lower fractional scores (0.81), suggesting a collaborative publication style. The dataset includes over 200 contributors, but most authors appear only once or twice, showing that while many are interested in the topic, a relatively small core group drives the majority of scholarly output.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data highlights the collaborative nature of this research field, with most authors working in multidisciplinary teams. Low fractionalised scores for many contributors point to a high level of co-authorship, likely involving experts from sociology, psychology, organisational behaviour, and IT. This trend reflects the complex, intersectional nature of loneliness in tech-driven environments. Overall, the dataset illustrates both the growing academic engagement with the subject and opportunities for future research, primarily through partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Loneliness in IT \u003cb\u003eis\u003c/b\u003e an emerging, multidisciplinary topic attracting global academic attention. A small group of researchers drives much of the core scholarship, while others occasionally contribute. The high degree of collaboration suggests that the issue is complex, often requiring \u003cb\u003em\u003c/b\u003eulti-expert perspectives (e.g., mental health, workplace dynamics, digital communication).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.5.Author production over time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the publication trends and scholarly impact of authors over time on the topic of loneliness in the IT sector. Authors like Brown L show early and consistent contributions, with their most impactful work appearing in 2008 and 2014, achieving high total citations (TC) of 111 and 89, respectively, and a peak TC per year (TCpY) \u003cb\u003eof\u003c/b\u003e 7.417 in 2014. Similarly, Guilcher SJT and Hitzig SL have demonstrated firm and recent productivity, particularly in 2021 and 2022, with high TCpY values (up to 11.75), indicating that their research has been both current and influential. Authors such as Cimino, SR, and Craven, BC also follow this pattern, contributing multiple times in recent years with impactful publications, as seen from consistently high TC and TCpY values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, authors like Angelova M and Kim S have had more recent publications but relatively low citation impact, as indicated by low or zero TC and TCpY scores in years like 2023\u0026ndash;2025. Some contributors, like Dor-Haim P, maintain moderate influence with a balanced output and TCpY scores peaking at 5.8. The data reveals a general upward trend in scholarly activity in recent years, especially post-2020, with newer contributors joining the discourse and established scholars maintaining strong citation performance. This points to growing academic interest and the subject's relevance in contemporary contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.6.Most Locally cited author-\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e highlights the most locally cited authors used in loneliness studies. Barsade SG and Ozcelik H are the most influential authors, with 49 local citations. Their impressive citation numbers indicate that their research has significantly impacted the scholarly debate regarding loneliness, possibly through underlying theories, empirical findings, or influential models. Next are Lam LW and Lau DC(2012), with 36 citations, and Silard A and Wright S, cited 30 times, showing their long-lasting contribution to the field. Other contributed sources include Kim YK, Lim CM, and Peng J, all cited 20 times, reflecting their relevance and scholarly contribution. The diversity of authors with citations between 6 and 19, for example, Anand P, Golden TD, Mishra SK, and Chen YS, reflects a diverse and productive research community investigating the multifold aspects of loneliness. This citation trend emphasises a robust academic base, where influential authors serve as intellectual pillars in the continuous academic discourse regarding loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.7.Affiliation over time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e shows the evolving research contributions on loneliness from various academic institutions over time. The University of Toronto stands out prominently as the most consistent and prolific contributor, beginning with a modest one article per year from 2000 to 2012, followed by a significant surge in output from 2013 onwards. By 2025, the university had published 80 articles, reflecting its sustained and growing focus on loneliness as a research theme. In contrast, institutions like the State University System of Florida and the University of California System began contributing meaningfully around 2007, gradually increasing their output to 22 and 27 articles by 2025. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM System) joined the discourse more recently, with PCSHE making notable contributions from 2017 and IIM from 2018. Both institutions showed promising growth, with the IIM System publishing 21 articles annually by 2023 and sustaining that rate through 2025. This trend indicates a global widening academic interest in loneliness research, with the University of Toronto maintaining a leading role. At the same time, other institutions increasingly recognise and contribute to this critical study area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.8.Most relevant affiliation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe University of Toronto is the most significant and applicable connection to loneliness studies, with 80 research articles published\u0026mdash;well ahead of other institutions worldwide (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). This recognition is a result of the university's firm interdisciplinary framework, bringing together knowledge from psychology, public health, sociology, gerontology, and digital health. Its partnership with premier research and healthcare institutions, including the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University Health Network, no doubt enhances its research contributions, especially on issues such as ageing, social isolation, mental illness, and the effects of technology on interpersonal relationships. The fact that the institution is spearheading this effort attests to its excellence in learning and its fundamental mission of spearheading solutions grounded in evidence for ending loneliness in contemporary societies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.9.Countries' production over time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the growth in research article production on the topic of loneliness from the year 2000 to 2025 across five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and China. The overall trend shows a significant global increase in academic interest in loneliness, especially after 2015, with a remarkable surge between 2020 and 2025. This growth coincides with heightened awareness of mental health issues, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital isolation, and demographic changes such as ageing populations and urban migration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe United States leads in the volume of research output, beginning with just four articles in 2000 and reaching a projected 649 by 2025, indicating strong research infrastructure and prioritisation of mental health issues. The United Kingdom has shown steady and consistent growth, increasing from one article in 2000 to 200 in 2025, reflecting a sustained policy and academic interest in social well-being. Canada's growth was modest until 2012 but accelerated sharply thereafter, culminating in 211 articles by 2025. Australia began contributing in 2006 and experienced gradual growth, producing 171 articles by 2025. Notably absent from the research landscape until 2011, China exhibited the most dramatic rise\u0026mdash;from two articles in 2011 to 418 in 2025\u0026mdash;highlighting its rapid emergence as a key player in global research. Overall, the data signals a global shift in scholarly focus toward loneliness as a pressing social and psychological issue, with exponential growth in research output reflecting its increasing relevance in contemporary societies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.10.Most relevant countries\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig10\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e highlights the most relevant countries contributing to research on loneliness based on the number of published articles, their share of global output, and the nature of international collaboration. The United States stands out as the leading contributor, accounting for 20.6% of the total articles (194), with a majority being single-country publications (SCP\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;161) and only 17% involving multiple-country collaboration (MCP\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;33). China follows with 142 articles (15.1%) and a relatively higher MCP percentage (28.2%), indicating a stronger emphasis on international research partnerships. The United Kingdom, with 75 articles (8%), shows a balanced research output and collaboration pattern, as nearly 31% of its publications are co-authored with other countries. Australia and Canada also contribute significantly, with 52 (5.5%) and 45 (4.8%) articles, respectively, showing notable MCP percentages of 26.9% and 31.1%. India, while close behind with 43 articles (4.6%), has a low MCP percentage (9.3%), suggesting limited international collaboration. Countries such as Korea (54.2%), Belgium (66.7%), New Zealand (80%), and Switzerland (80%) exhibit high MCP percentages despite smaller article counts, indicating a strong tendency for cross-border academic partnerships. Notably, nations like South Africa, Portugal, and Romania contribute entirely through domestic efforts with zero international collaborations. Other emerging contributors, such as Brazil, Israel, Germany, and the Netherlands, have moderate levels of output and collaboration. While the USA leads in sheer volume, countries like China, the UK, and Canada show balanced contributions with a growing emphasis on global collaboration. Smaller nations often compensate for limited output with higher MCP percentages, underlining loneliness research's global and cooperative nature.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.11 Sources\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the number of articles published, the most appropriate source in the field is the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, with 98 articles (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e). The large number indicates the journal's pivotal position in the publication of research about public health concerns of loneliness, social isolation, mental well-being, and related psychosocial and environmental issues. It has a strong interdisciplinary bent, integrating health sciences, psychology, sociology, and environmental studies perspectives. The visibility of this journal indicates that much of the academic discussion of loneliness and its effects is rooted in a public health tradition, focusing not just on the psychological aspects but on the larger societal and ecological context. Subsequently, PLOS ONE and Scientific Reports also came to the fore, suggesting that open-access, multidisciplinary journals are central outlets for research communication in this field.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e provides a Sankey diagram that illustrates relationships between cited references (CR), authors (AU), and keywords or research descriptors (DE) in loneliness studies. On the left (CR), core and most-cited studies are presented, including Weiss (1973) on the experience of loneliness, Cacioppo et al. (2008) on the biological nature of loneliness, and Russell (1980) on scales for measuring loneliness. The middle column (AU) features leading authors such as Dor-Haim, Dattilo, and Hitzig,(2023) who have made important contributions to the area and expanded on the original investigations. Towards the right (DE), the most important thematic categories are illustrated, with the primary descriptors being \"loneliness,\" \"social isolation,\" and \"social support,\" reflecting the core emphasis in most studies. Other topics like \"older adults,\" \"COVID-19,\" \"rehabilitation,\" \"ageing,\" and \"depression\" also emerge, demonstrating a multidisciplinary focus. The direction of links shows how powerful references have constructed the writing of prominent authors and how those publications, in turn, generate specific research fields. This visualisation highlights loneliness studies' progression and thematic organisation, tracing knowledge evolution between sources, contributors, and topics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe research's third goal was to examine the major research streams and new focus areas connected with workplace loneliness. The goal is to identify existing and future research directions, emphasising pragmatic themes applicable to corporate well-being strategies, hybrid work patterns, and employee commitment. The methods used are thematic evolution analysis, Bibliographic coupling and trend topic detection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.12.Cluster Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data offers important insights into how loneliness is experienced by professionals working in the IT sector, highlighting its connections with various workplace dynamics. The themes are grouped into three clusters, each revealing a distinct dimension of the issue (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig13\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe most recurrent in the data (131 times) is the first cluster that associates loneliness with lower job satisfaction and overall decreased influence in the workplace. Moderately central (0.395), but with an impact score of 1.978, this theme shows it is experienced extensively among IT professionals, implying that emotions of isolation can significantly impact how employees feel about their role and contribution to an organisation. The second cluster, though marginally less frequent (96 occurrences), is the most central and influential theme, obtaining the highest scores for centrality (0.442) and influence (3.395). The cluster relates feelings of loneliness to organisational expansion and employee performance, implying that employees are likely to feel more isolated as IT companies expand or restructure. Such organisational changes can disturb the cohesion of teams or restrict social interaction, possibly decreasing productivity and employee morale. The third category, although referred to least frequently (23 times) and with the smallest centrality score (0.251), calls attention to a similarly important area: the interrelation of loneliness, health issues, and organisational reforms. Although it is less highlighted in frequency, the topic discusses how employees subject to structural change without adequate support can undergo not just emotional but also physical distress. Together, these trends highlight the complex nature of loneliness in the IT industry. It is not only a personal problem but also one that crosses over into organisational design, employee satisfaction, and health. The results suggest the imperative for holistic interventions\u0026mdash;ones that address individual experience as well as the general workplace context.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.13. Co-occurrence Network\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe bibliometric map, which is a thematic cluster map, points out three major areas of study that are different but interlinked: work, health, and loneliness (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig14\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e). These clusters are derived from the co-occurrence of keywords in academic scholarship and indicate how scholars are focusing on studying loneliness in different social environments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe initial and most salient cluster, \"Loneliness,\" constitutes the theoretical core of the research environment. It contains commonly employed dimensions like loneliness, impact, stress, satisfaction, and social support. It addresses loneliness as both an emotional and behavioural concern, usually correlated with indices of mental health such as stress, self-esteem, and difficulty adjusting. Most striking is the mounting frequency of digital-related keywords like technology, internet usage, and social media, signalling an expanding scholarly concern with the way virtual spaces define isolation experiences. Keywords like scale, model, and validity also imply a robust methodological bias, especially in terms of estimating and theorising loneliness, with a particular interest in groups such as university students and teens.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe second cluster, \"Health,\" identifies the serious and widespread health implications of loneliness and social isolation. This cluster contains words such as depression, mental health, older adults, quality of life, and support. The cluster highlights the interrelations between loneliness and a variety of health problems, including mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, and physical effects such as cognitive impairment and enhanced mortality risk. The use of words like intervention, resilience, prevalence, and risk factors indicates that this corpus of work is not merely descriptive but solution-focused, seeking to inform public health responses in the form of specific programs, clinical interventions, and policy-level responses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe third cluster, \"Work,\" considers loneliness at the intersection with the workplace and organisational life. It contains such words as work, performance, engagement, burnout, and job satisfaction, indicating an increased recognition of loneliness's influence on worker well-being and organisational performance. Other keywords\u0026mdash;leadership, identity, commitment, and professional isolation\u0026mdash;track deeper interpersonal and structural forces at work in workplaces. Most germane to this are words such as telework, job demands, and life balance that refer to the new work landscape since the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it has changed social connections\u0026mdash;or lack thereof\u0026mdash;between employees.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll three clusters\u0026mdash;loneliness, health, and work\u0026mdash;sustain a holistic perspective on how loneliness is being researched within various aspects of life. From mental health at the individual level to more general public health concerns and workplace issues, it is evident from the analysis that loneliness is a matter of urgency with far-reaching social implications.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the era of globalisation and the process of digitalisation, loneliness has grown into a significant research topic in the field of organisation and management. The acute issue of mental health in the workplace following COVID-19 grew into a significant research area. The research aims to discover and examine the intellectual and conceptual trends; to scrutinise the academic environment by charting the most influential writers, institutions, and journals that make research contributions on loneliness issues in management contexts, and to investigate the collaboration patterns of research between them and to explore the primary research streams and emerging areas of focus on loneliness in the workplace. After a proper literature investigation from the Scopus and Web of Science databases was performed, following PRISMA guidelines. The research employed the Bibliometrix package, Biblioshiny, to analyse bibliometrics. This research maps and explores the intellectual and conceptual horizon of loneliness studies in management and organisational studies for 2000\u0026ndash;2025 using sophisticated bibliometric methods. The corpus consists of 940 documents which portray the growing and collaborative nature of loneliness scholarship, characterised by consistent increase, high scholarly activity, and broad thematic representation. Its depth and scope reflect the rising worldwide academic concern with loneliness across disciplines.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe consistent increase in yearly scientific output between 2000 and 2025 is evidence of a strong and consistent increase in scholarly interest and investment in the study of loneliness in management and organisational studies. The analysis identifies that studies on loneliness in the workplace\u0026mdash;particularly in the IT industry\u0026mdash;borrow from a rich, multidisciplinary corpus of highly cited and impactful studies across the fields of psychology, organisational behaviour, and public health. Increased integration among multiple fields points to the complexity of workplace loneliness and researchers' need to draw upon this broad intellectual base. The research suggests that research on loneliness in the IT field is motivated by an active but small core group of researchers with support from extensive, multidisciplinary engagement. This points to both the complexity of the subject and the necessity of ongoing cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop the field. The research indicates that leading writers such as Brown L, Guilcher SJT, and Hitzig SL(2020) have continuously contributed to IT-related research on loneliness. The ongoing emergence of new authors and persistent citation output of veteran researchers confirms the field's increasing relevance and scholarly momentum. The citation data emphasises a robust academic foundation informed by extremely influential writers such as Barsade SG and Ozcelik H (2012), whose writing frames the contemporary scholarly debate on loneliness. The data indicates that the University of Toronto dominates sustained research on loneliness. At the same time, emerging contributions from institutions such as PCSHE and IIM emphasise the increasing global academic attention on this theme.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere is a striking worldwide upsurge in loneliness studies between 2000 and 2025, led by nations such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and China's fast rise after 2011. The upsurge corresponds with increased worldwide concern over loneliness as a pressing mental and social issue in today's world. Though the USA is at the pinnacle of loneliness research productivity, nations such as China, the UK, and Canada have a more significant proportion of international collaborations. These countries with lower publication volumes typically make up for it with high cross-border collaborations, evincing loneliness research's global and collaborative nature. The dominance of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health highlights the discipline's firm public health and inter-disciplinary focus, with open-access titles such as PLOS ONE and Scientific Reports also being major outlets for loneliness research. Overall, the evidence indicates that loneliness in IT professionals directly connects to job satisfaction, organisational transformation, and employee well-being, uncovering its extensive involvement with workplace processes. These findings emphasise the importance of integrated approaches that speak to both personal welfare and organisational systems. Loneliness studies cover three highly interrelated domains\u0026mdash;emotional and behavioural aspects, health consequences, and work environment\u0026mdash;each of which speaks to the complexity of the topic. Collectively, these clusters emphasise that loneliness is an urgent issue with far-reaching implications for individuals, public health, and organisational life.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6. Limitations of the study","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study acknowledges a few limitations that may affect the interpretation of the findings. First, the analysis exclusively relied on the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database, as Scopus could not provide the Science Category data in this study, which was essential for thematic clustering and disciplinary classification within bibliometric analyses. Although WoS offers high-quality and curated content, the exclusion of Scopus may have led to the omission of relevant articles, which may narrow the scope of the intellectual landscape.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, the articles published on the WoS were available in English only. The language bias may fail to accommodate the diversity of theoretical perspectives on workplace loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe have no conflict of interest to declare.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDISCLOSURE\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could be viewed as inappropriately influencing (bias) our study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEthics Approval\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study did not require ethical approval as it is based solely on bibliometric data retrieved from a publicly available database and does not involve human participants, personal data, or animal subjects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors received no specific funding for this research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare the following individual contributions: The authors made distinct contributions to this research work. Vijay Kumar Pandey conceptualised and conducted the technical analysis using R Studio, which included performing bibliometric analysis, generating strategic diagrams and trend topic visualisations, conducting thematic mapping and cluster analysis, and creating data visualisations to illustrate research themes and their temporal evolution. Madhuri focused on the writing and interpretation aspects, analysing and interpreting the strategic diagram results, identifying and categorising research themes into different categories, providing detailed analysis of trend topics and their evolution over time, and synthesising all findings into a coherent research narrative. All authors have read and approved the final work.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data supporting this study's findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAngelova M, Kim S (2021) Remote work and employee mental health. 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Manage Res Rev 43(5):607\u0026ndash;623. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2019-0313\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1108/MRR-07-2019-0313\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeiss RS (1973) Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. MIT Press\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWright S, Silard A (2020) Connectedness and employee well-being: A review of literature. J Organizational Cult Commun Confl 24(1):1\u0026ndash;13\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Workplace Loneliness, PRISMA methodology, Bibliometric Analysis, R Studio, Biblioshiny","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7275428/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7275428/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe World Health Organisation has declared loneliness a significant health threat, and it equates to mortality with fifteen cigarettes a day. The workplace is also not devoid of this menace; it is an essential factor for employees' well-being and affects performance. With the growing attention to loneliness, there is a need for a systematic understanding of its conceptual evolution and intellectual structure from the management perspective in academic articles.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey used the PRISMA methodology to extract articles from the Web of Science and conduct a bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed articles on workplace loneliness within management and organisational research between 2000 and 2025. The survey used 940 articles for analysis using the Bibliometrix R package. Results reveal three dominant research clusters: (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) Loneliness, Satisfaction, Emotional Impact, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) Performance, Measurement, Empirical Scaling, and (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e) Health Effects and Niche Measurement Studies; the study identifies leading authors, institutions, journals, and countries contributing to this field. Thematic evolution indicates a paradigm shift toward understanding loneliness in the context of hybrid work environments and virtual collaboration.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Workplace Loneliness Through the Lens of Management Research: A Bibliometric and Thematic Exploration","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-20 12:08:06","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7275428/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-29T08:39:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-27T15:33:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-27T03:22:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-21T11:14:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"151166175049632441156298041231743721555","date":"2026-01-21T08:44:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"198218141532983286148445508547695513254","date":"2026-01-19T10:42:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"70462180014428404226347544481128775014","date":"2026-01-19T08:15:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"265431002896248466255261158895137527793","date":"2026-01-18T14:56:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-15T13:17:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T10:28:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-24T06:58:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-06T04:42:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2025-12-06T04:37:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b5cc4610-aa57-4f27-aa53-4bc69e94e222","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":61362582,"name":"Health sciences/Health care"},{"id":61362583,"name":"Health sciences/Health occupations"},{"id":61362584,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":61362585,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-05T09:59:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7275428","link":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-07197-w","journal":{"identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications"},"publishedOn":"2026-05-02 15:57:16","publishedOnDateReadable":"May 2nd, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-20 12:08:06","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1057/s41599-026-07197-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-07197-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7275428","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7275428","identity":"rs-7275428","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}