Swedish Workers Trial 'Friendship Hour' to Combat Loneliness

STOCKHOLM – A leading Swedish pharmacy chain is piloting a novel employee benefit that directly targets a growing public health crisis: loneliness. In a move that aligns with a new government-led national strategy, Apotek Hjärtat is providing its staff with paid time off specifically to nurture friendships, a corporate experiment that could have significant implications for employee wellbeing, productivity, and healthcare costs.

The initiative comes as businesses are increasingly being called upon to play a role in addressing societal challenges. The year-long trial, dubbed "friendcare," spotlights the tangible economic and health consequences of social isolation and tests a proactive, corporate-led solution.

A Corporate Prescription for Connection

The pilot program, which began in April, involves 11 employees from the pharmacy group. It is designed to provide the time, resources, and encouragement needed to strengthen social bonds.

Yasmine Lindberg, a 45-year-old pharmacy worker in the southern city of Kalmar, is one of the participants. "I'm really tired when I go home. I don't have time or energy to meet my friends," she explains. Since separating from her partner four years ago, Lindberg admits to feeling "quite lonely."

The program offers a structured remedy to this modern ailment.

• Paid Time: Participants are granted 15 minutes per week, or one hour per month, of paid time during their workday. This time is ring-fenced for activities like calling a friend, planning a meet-up, or having a coffee with someone in person.
• Financial Incentive: Each volunteer receives 1,000 kronor (approximately $100) to help fund friendship-based activities over the course of the year-long trial.
• Training and Awareness: Apotek Hjärtat has also developed online training modules on how to recognize and combat loneliness, making them available to its entire 4,000-person workforce across Sweden.

"I wanted to make it better for myself… like, kick myself in the back to do stuff," Lindberg says of her motivation for joining. "I feel happier. You can't live through the internet like most people do these days."

A Strategic Investment in Wellbeing

For Apotek Hjärtat, the "friendcare" initiative is a strategic extension of its commitment to health, both for its customers and its employees. CEO Monica Magnusson states the project was partly inspired by a previous collaboration with the mental health charity Mind, which showed that even brief, meaningful conversations between pharmacists and customers could reduce feelings of isolation.

"We try and see what the effects are from having the opportunity to spend a bit of time every week on safeguarding your relationships," explains Ms. Magnusson.

The project's name, "vänvård" (friendcare), is a deliberate wordplay on "friskvård" (wellness care), a well-established and tax-deductible benefit in Sweden. Many companies already offer employees an annual allowance for fitness activities or a weekly "friskvårdstimme" (wellness hour).

"This is a reflection on that, but targeting loneliness and relationships instead," Ms. Magnusson notes. The approach reframes social connection not as a luxury, but as a core component of personal health, akin to physical exercise.

Government Sounds the Alarm on Loneliness

Apotek Hjärtat's pilot is timely, launching as Sweden's government elevates loneliness to a national policy issue. In July, the Public Health Agency of Sweden, commissioned by the government, released the country's first national strategy to combat loneliness and social isolation.

A key pillar of this strategy is fostering greater collaboration between the business community, municipalities, researchers, and civil society.

Health Minister Jakob Forssmed has described loneliness as a "major public health concern," citing extensive global research that links it to severe health risks.

• Serious Health Risks: Chronic loneliness is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, strokes, and a greater likelihood of premature death.
• Economic Impact: Forssmed argues that businesses have a direct stake in addressing the problem, as it affects the health of both their employees and customers. The resulting healthcare and sick-leave costs place a significant burden on public finances and corporate bottom lines.

"We need to… have a greater awareness about this, that this is something that really affects health, and affects [the] economy as well," Forssmed stated.

The Swedish Context: By the Numbers

While often perceived as a model for social welfare, Sweden faces significant challenges with social isolation. The cold, dark winters and cultural norms can act as barriers to socialising.

• EU Comparison: European Union research indicates that approximately 14% of Sweden's population reports feeling lonely some or all of the time, a figure slightly higher than the EU average.
• Friendship Deficit: A 2024 study by Statistics Sweden delivered a stark finding: 8% of adults in the country report having no close friends at all.
• Contributing Factors: Daniel Ek, a Swedish psychologist and co-author of The Power of Friendship, points to a "Swedish mentality" where people are reluctant to "disturb others." He also notes that with over 40% of households being single-person, structural factors may exacerbate the issue.

The Bottom Line

Apotek Hjärtat's "friendship hour" represents a pioneering attempt to institutionalize a solution for a problem with deep social and economic roots. By embedding time for social connection into the paid workday, the company is testing whether a small, structured intervention can yield significant returns in employee morale, health, and ultimately, productivity.

The results of this year-long pilot will be closely monitored by business leaders and policymakers. If successful, the "vänvård" model could offer a template for other corporations seeking to invest in their workforce's mental health, reduce absenteeism, and contribute to a healthier, more connected society. It poses a fundamental question for the modern workplace: is fostering friendship a new frontier for corporate responsibility?