In the long shadow of the pandemic, two young founders have set out to answer a quiet ache that many office workers now carry: the loss of the ordinary company of colleagues. Their app, Tahora, tries to rebuild a sense of belonging by pointing isolated staff toward gatherings and groups in the neighbourhoods where they actually live, since so much of working life has drifted away from the workplace and into the home. Police, banks and government agencies have reportedly taken it up, a sign that institutions are beginning to treat loneliness as a matter of wellbeing rather than private misfortu
Two Young Founders Launch Tahora, an App Aimed at Loneliness and Isolation in Home Working
Millions of remote workers reportedly face loneliness and depression from isolation, with more than nine million on furlough.
The water cooler moment is gone, and the isolation may outlast lockdown.
Mark
What does Tahora actually do?
Mimi
It links employees to social events and groups near where they live. Each employer gets its own platform inside the app, and users can join activities or start clubs and teams.
Mark
Who is using it?
Mimi
The founders say the Metropolitan Police, banks and government agencies have signed up. In the Met, response officers can find nearby senior colleagues for yoga or dog-walking.
Luke
Worth noting that the sign-ups come from the founders. We don't know how many staff at those organisations actually use it.
Mark
Why pitch it around the office at all?
Mimi
Mr Towers says many people don't live or socialise near work, so friendships stay limited. Relate's research found 42 per cent of employees questioned have no friends at work.
Luke
That figure is Relate's, from a sample of those questioned, and it measures workplace friendship, not loneliness at home. It supports the pitch but doesn't prove the app works.
Mark
And the personal angle?
Mimi
Both founders cite personal experience of mental health issues. Mr Rose talks about stressed colleagues at Morgan Stanley. They raised £825,000.
Luke
Quotes like loneliness being as big as the pandemic are Mr Towers' view, not a measured comparison. And there's no outcome data yet.
Le Pouls
- Millions of home-based workers are finding their days hollow, and the founders say the strain is quietly building toward a mental health crisis.
- Surveys cited in the piece suggest that many employees have no friend at work at all, a gap that lockdown has pried open wider.
- Tahora is moving to plug the gap, offering each employer a private social platform and linking staff to nearby clubs and events.
- The Metropolitan Police, banks and government bodies have reportedly signed on, though the app's effect on wellbeing remains unproven.
- The founders warn that isolation will outlast lockdown, so the search for ways to keep people connected is likely to continue.
In the long shadow of the pandemic, two young founders have set out to answer a quiet ache that many office workers now carry: the loss of the ordinary company of colleagues. Their app, Tahora, tries to rebuild a sense of belonging by pointing isolated staff toward gatherings and groups in the neighbourhoods where they actually live, since so much of working life has drifted away from the workplace and into the home. Police, banks and government agencies have reportedly taken it up, a sign that institutions are beginning to treat loneliness as a matter of wellbeing rather than private misfortune. Whether such digital bridges can truly stand in for the water-cooler moments that have quietly vanished is a question the coming months, rather than the founders' pitch, will have to settle.
Ben Towers, 22, and Mike Rose, 29, have built an app called Tahora for people who have found working from home lonely and isolating. Its aim is simple: connect employees with social groups and events near where they live, rather than near the office they no longer visit. Each employer can run a private social space inside the app, where staff can join activities or start their own clubs, teams and outings.
The clearest example so far comes from the Metropolitan Police, where response officers can reach senior colleagues living nearby for things like socially distanced yoga and dog-walks, regardless of rank. The founders say they are pitching to employers anxious about how staff will cope when they return after months apart.
Their concern is backed by research from the charity Relate, which found that 42 per cent of employees have no friends at work, and one in ten has no close friend there at all. With more than nine million people on furlough, the founders describe a mental health timebomb in the making.
Both men say the project is personal. Mr Towers has watched close family and friends struggle with mental health, and Mr Rose saw talented colleagues in investment banking drive themselves into serious trouble with stress. Together they have raised £825,000. Their central belief is that isolation will outlast lockdown. The article reports their account of uptake, but offers no independent evidence yet on whether Tahora actually improves wellbeing.
Ben Towers, 22, of Barons Court, and Mike Rose, 29, have launched a mental health app called Tahora, built for employees who have found working from home isolating. According to the founders, it has already been signed up by the Metropolitan Police, banks and government agencies.
The idea is to connect staff with social events and groups close to where they actually live. Mr Towers argues that millions of people neither live nor socialise near their workplace, which limits the friendships they can form outside the office. Each employer gets its own social platform inside the app. Users can join activities there, or start their own clubs, teams, events and adventures.
The Met offers the clearest example in the source. Response officers can use the app to reach senior colleagues who live nearby, regardless of rank, for wellbeing activities such as socially distanced yoga and dog-walking.
The founders are pitching to employers who are worried about how workers will cope when they return after months of lockdown. They cite research by the relationship counselling charity Relate, which found that 42 per cent of employees questioned have no friends at work, and one in ten said they have no close friend there at all. More than nine million workers are currently on furlough after being sent home by their employers, which the article describes as adding to a mental health timebomb.
Mr Towers set up his first company at 11 and was praised by Sir Richard Branson. He said loneliness is rapidly becoming as big an issue as the Covid-19 pandemic itself. In his words, Covid has disrupted the workplace and, with it, the wellbeing of millions, since the water cooler moment is gone. He said this will not magically end when people return to work, and that companies are struggling to keep employees engaged when they are working from home and far apart. He said he has spent endless nights wondering how society can stay connected using only social media, and described the response to Tahora as phenomenal.
Both founders say the project is personal. Mr Towers has had close family and friends who experienced mental health challenges, up to the extreme end. Mr Rose, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, said he saw many talented professionals drive themselves into the ground with stress, leading to significant mental health problems. Together they have raised £825,000 for Tahora.
Their central claim is that isolation will outlast lockdown. If that holds, employers may keep looking for tools like this one. The article reports the founders' account of uptake and response, and offers no independent evidence yet on whether the app improves wellbeing.
Citations marquantes
Loneliness is rapidly becoming as big an issue as the Covid-19 pandemic itself.— Ben Towers, co-founder of Tahora
He saw many talented professionals drive themselves into the ground with stress, leading to significant mental health problems.— Mike Rose, co-founder and former Morgan Stanley banker
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