Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company’s mini-advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions.

Q: What should I do if I feel left out at work?

A: We spend so much of our lives at work and grant work so much of our mental space to work, even when we aren’t physically there. Of course we want to feel like we belong and are well-liked. You don’t have to have a work bestie or (cringe) work spouse, but meaningful relationships with the people you work with are important. Like many workplace problems, it might help a little to know that you aren’t alone. In fact, the Surgeon General has described an ongoing “loneliness epidemic,” which can manifest in our professional interactions, as well as in our personal lives.

This is a different, but related, problem to feeling overlooked and undervalued at work, which I addressed several weeks ago. If you are feel overlooked, I recommended communicating more with your boss. Gently point out the work you are doing and check in more regularly. You can even explicitly tell them that you want to be considered for more responsibilities.

Feeling generally left out can seem like a different problem though, because it’s not about work performance. It can even feel like you’re back in school. You might have the same worry: “Is everyone hanging out without me?” This can be even worse for remote employees who know they are missing out on those little informal moments chatting before meetings or in the hallway.

The solution to not feeling left out is similar to addressing feeling overlooked; you have to be the one to make the effort. If you want to have more of a relationship with coworkers, start by modeling the behavior you’d like to see. Check in on how they’re doing, remember milestones, ask about about their families and lives, praise or thank them in meetings or on Slack, share credit and ideas. Good coworkers will start to reciprocate and hopefully you’ll end up with a workplace that feels a little less lonely.