Is Friendcare the Next Wellness Perk?

Is the next corporate wellness perk going to be "friendcare"? With loneliness on the rise, maybe it should be. All around the world, adults' close social circles are getting smaller. Friendships are lying dormant, and no, trading memes and reels back and forth (guilty) doesn't count.

In Sweden, the pharmacy chain Apotek Hjärtat is piloting paid time for employees to connect with friends, as Maddy Savage reports for the BBC. Participants get 15 minutes a week, or an hour a month, during working hours to make a phone call, chat over FaceTime or meet up in person. The company also offers online training in how to recognize and tackle loneliness. Rebuilding human relationships and friendships is certainly one of the ways we can push back on loneliness.

How many of us think about a friend during the day and say to ourselves, "Oh, I should really call ___ after work"? After work comes, but by then we're too tired, too busy, or maybe we've just lost the muscle memory (and the desire?) to pick up the phone. Blocking off paid time to exercise our relationships just might help.

When's the last time you called a friend? Maybe today's the day.