# Workplace Loneliness Experience Among Older Professionals (Aged ≥50 Years) in the Context of Digitalization: Protocol for a Scoping Review

## TL;DR

This study will explore how digitalization affects workplace loneliness in older professionals and identify interventions to reduce it.

## Contribution

The study introduces a systematic scoping review protocol to examine digitalization's impact on loneliness among older workers.

## Key findings

- A preliminary search found limited existing research on digitalization and workplace loneliness in older professionals.
- The review will use PRISMA-ScR guidelines to synthesize evidence on digital tools and interventions related to workplace loneliness.

## Abstract

Workplace loneliness—defined as the perceived absence of meaningful social relationships at work—can have a negative impact on the well-being, engagement, and productivity of employees. Older professionals (aged ≥50 years) may be particularly vulnerable to workplace loneliness in the context of accelerated digitalization, which may create obstacles to inclusion, communication, and collaboration. Despite growing interest in this phenomenon, no comprehensive synthesis has yet examined how digital tools and transformations affect loneliness among older workers or what interventions have been implemented to address it.

This scoping review aims to systematically map the existing literature on workplace loneliness among workers aged 50 years or older, with a particular focus on how digitalization influences these experiences. The review will also identify digital tools associated with loneliness and explore organizational interventions to reduce loneliness among this demographic.

This scoping review will follow the methodological framework by Arksey and O’Malley and the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) reporting guidelines. A comprehensive search will be conducted in multiple databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and APA PsycINFO) and gray literature. Eligible studies will (1) include workers aged 50 years or older, (2) address workplace loneliness or related constructs in professional contexts, and (3) be situated in digitalized work environments (eg, remote or hybrid work, digital tools, and information and communications technology systems). Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment will be conducted independently by at least 2 reviewers. Data will be charted using a predefined template covering study characteristics, theoretical frameworks, the digital context, loneliness measures, and intervention strategies and synthesized narratively and thematically.

As this is a scoping review protocol, results are not yet available. A preliminary search conducted in June to July 2025 across MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science yielded 450, 1, and 47 potentially relevant records, respectively. No systematic or scoping reviews were identified on workplace loneliness among older workers in digitalized contexts. One review addressed video calls for nonworking older adults, reporting very low-certainty evidence. The planned review will apply the PRISMA-ScR guidelines to synthesize evidence on digitalization’s role in, technologies associated with, and organizational interventions to mitigate workplace loneliness for professionals aged 50 years or older.

This scoping review will systematically examine how digitalization shapes workplace loneliness among professionals aged 50 years or older and identify organizational interventions that address it. The synthesis will refine conceptual understanding, highlight critical evidence gaps, and inform the development of socially supportive digital work environments for aging workforces.

Open Science Framework 6p4ak; https://osf.io/6p4ak

DERR1-10.2196/81843