No op, but it's not surprising that someone might feel lonely in any context. What's surprising is that so many people would lack the social skills to rectify this problem that employers have created policies where they instruct your co-workers to be your "friend.". And it's equally surprising that an employee would have this expectation of their employer. It's rather juvenile, like parents setting up play dates for their kids.
You're assuming the mail-list thread was about managers ordering people to be friends with the lonely employee. Maybe that's what happened but I doubt it.
