“It turns out loneliness is a public health issue. And I would say it has risen to the level of being a public health crisis. It’s an experience that we all have from time to time, but when it’s persistent, or when it’s extreme, it can actually come with significant health risks. We all know that loneliness is associated with increased risk of anxiety and depression and suicide, but it’s also associated with an increased risk of heart disease and premature death, as well as dementia. And when you actually look at the risk of premature death related to loneliness, it’s comparable to the increased risk of premature death due to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and it is greater than the risk associated with obesity…And it’s extraordinarily common. Around one in two Americans are experiencing loneliness.”

Murthy said employers have an important role to play in combatting this crisis, since they account for such an important part of peoples’ social interaction.

“This is important not only for workers, but for businesses as well, because it turns out when people feel a greater sense of connection to each other in the workplace, it positively impacts their creativity, their productivity, and actually their engagement in the workplace, which has downstream impacts on retention.”

I asked Murthy whether he had chosen to focus on loneliness because it is one of the very few issues that hasn’t—yet—been subject to intense political polarization. His response:

“In my view, rebuilding social connection and community is at the heart of what we need to do to address polarization. Because I’ll tell you one thing, it’s hard to hate people up close. We need to rebuild those relationships for the sake of individual health but also societal health.”

You can find more from the conference on Fortune Well, including this story on how the pandemic intensified the mental health crisis. Other news below. And check out Sheryl Estrada’s story for Fortune on the 116 stocks that may be vulnerable to activist attacks.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

Disney v. DeSantis

Disney's lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for breach of contract and freedom of speech violations is a new twist in Bob Iger's second stint as CEO. The veteran executive was supposed to dial down tensions with the state and its Republican governor, but Iger, a Democrat who once considered running for president, is ratcheting up the fight instead. Bloomberg

Amazon halts Halo

Amazon announced it will discontinue its health-focused Halo devices and membership as part of cost-cutting measures. The company will offer refunds to customers who purchased Halo devices in the past year. The Verge

Stellantis to cut 3,500

Automaker Stellantis is providing buyout opportunities to some of its North American employees in order to cut expenses and become more competitive in the EV market. The company plans to cut its hourly employees by about 3,500. The Associated Press

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Commentary: Equity and meritocracy aren’t necessarily at odds. How I had to figure out the big E to rethink our company’s diversity approach by Brian Doubles

Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast by Prarthana Prakash

Bed Bath & Beyond CEO is the latest example of a female leader facing a ‘glass cliff’ by Emma Hinchliffe and Kinsey Crowley

Reframing flexible work as ‘agile working’ could get even the most stubborn bosses onboard. That’s great news for working women by Jane Thier

Vanguard: The housing market downturn is ‘why we view a mild U.S. recession in 2023 as most likely’ by Lance Lambert

This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Jackson Fordyce.