What is Workplace Loneliness And How iTaukei Culture Can Counter It.

Workplace Loneliness is a silent killer that is plaguing Western offices, yet I’ve not felt that in Fiji. I attribute this to cultural values that encourage relationships.

There is a silent epidemic amongst the working classes, creeping around desks and water coolers, staring right at us and being camouflaged with the noise that drones on from desktop computers and machines. It affects 1 in 5 workers today. No its not VuceSARS (A play on a Fijian word for lazy that came about during the SARS outbreak in 2002-2004). We’re in a society where connections are everything, yet almost all of it being superficial—you could have 30 thousand followers on Instagram (IG) and not have met any of them in person. This silent killer of careers is called Workplace Loneliness.

So what is workplace loneliness? It is the feeling of emotional or social isolation experienced by individuals in a work environment. It can occur even when someone is surrounded by co-workers. Think about your own experience for second. How often have you established meaningful relationships with your co-workers and your boss beyond the tasks that you do together? Genuine connections that could grow to lasting friendships later on?

This kind of loneliness stems from:

Lack of meaningful relationships or emotional connection with colleagues.
Poor communication or exclusion from decision-making.
Remote work or physically isolated roles.
Cultural or value mismatches.
Power dynamics that create barriers between leadership and employees.

Workplace loneliness can lead to decreased productivity, lower job satisfaction, burnout, and even mental and physical health issues.

Now I know what you might be thinking right now. You’ve probably never left like this right? Or, at least, you’ve never like this for long if you’re from or in Fiji—or the Oceania for that matter. Now why is that? I can’t speak for other Pasifika cultures but I would assume that the examples that I will use from the iTaukei culture translates across the highway we call the Pacific Ocean.

The iTaukei culture was built on collectivist values—the community is I and I am the community. The Oceanic forebears understood that relationships needed to be the cornerstone of its people. In-built into the culture that we still follow today, albeit more flexible and adapted to this modern society that we find ourselves circumventing, we still follow value systems that promote the creation and maintenance of relationships. These values run counter to the individualistic culture that is prevalent in Western countries, where workplace loneliness has bloomed.

The Cultural Values

1. Veikauwaitaki (Caring for one another)

Veikauwaitaki encourages empathy and emotional support within a community—i.e. a team, workplace, a rugby club or even a kava kalapu (a Tongan social club). To kauwai is to care for/about a person—to take personal interest—and this creates an environment that helps people feel seen and valued.

What would veikauwaitaki look like in practice? Managers checking in on staff, offering support during tough times, or recognizing emotional well-being as part of workplace health. It could be as simple as asking someone about their day, their family, or inviting them to lunch.

2. Veivakaliuci (Respect and giving others their due place)

Veivakaliuci reinforces respect and dignity in interactions. The literal translation of the word is to put someone in front of one’s self. When people feel respected, they’re more likely to engage and connect. This is an important value across the board, but doubly so for leaders. If you, a leader, were to use veivakaliuci in your daily interactions, you would stand out! Imagine you’re in a big meeting and your boss addressed you in a respectable manner before asking your opinion on a critical issue. Wouldn’t you want to run through the wall to produce a solution to the problem asked?

In practice, veivakaliuci would be creating inclusive policies, listening to all voices during a meeting, and respecting different roles and contributions that individuals make.

3. Veivukei (Helping one another)

Veivukei promotes teamwork and cooperation which reduces feelings of isolation. When help is part of the culture, no one feels alone in their work. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help. If the culture within the workplace is one that encourages people to take the first step and help, it takes away that stress of asking for help in the first place.

Encouraging collaborative projects, mentorship, and peer support systems are some ways that veivukei could be introduced into the workplace.

4. Solesolevaki (Working together for the common good)

Solesolevaki is one of the foundational principles that built the iTaukei culture. It fosters a sense of shared purpose and belonging, which are key antidotes to loneliness. In the old days, communities would schedule work details that cycled through each individual’s farm until all the farms were cleaned, planted, and harvested, before working on the community plantation. This collaborative process maintained relationships between individuals, families, and clans. This almost fairytale-like scenario can be done in the modern workplace too.

In practice, holding team-building activities, setting collective goals, or practicing shared decision-making, are some ways that leaders in today’s workplace can replicate the solesolevaki spirit.

5. Vakaturaga (Leadership through humility and service)

Vakaturaga roughly translates to having a manner befitting a chief and implies respect, decorum, and awareness of one’s social standing and the roles required of oneself. Leaders who practice vakaturaga are approachable and serve the people and striving to break down the emotional barriers that often isolate workers. If you were to practice vakaturaga, you would treat your peers as equals and would strive to help them, believing that leadership is through service.

Having an open-door policy, practicing servant leadership, and participating in everyday tasks or events with the community are ways that you could showcase this value of vakaturaga.

As you go through your work day, take some time to reflect upon this silent killer that plagues the offices of the Western World—Workplace loneliness. Appreciate this culture that we have that dispels the brooding darkness that is loneliness. Like a patronus conjured up to fight this dementor and drainer of souls, iTaukei cultural values—such as vekauwaitaki, veivakaliuci, veivuke, solesolevaki and vakaturaga—can create a barrier against workplace loneliness. So, when you’re in the middle of laughing your head off at a colleague’s jokes as he/she helps you overcome a difficult task, appreciate that this could be a cultural thing.

This episode is sponsored by the Alfred Tora blog — a website on topics that range from Pasifika indigenous knowledge, to organizational psychology, and everything in between.