Nearly 600,000 people were surveyed in the groundbreaking research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of work as we knew it. Though companies had been dabbling with the occasional remote or flex day for a while, 2020 saw working from home\u2014for those who could\u2014become almost universal for a period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the years since, working remotely has largely stuck around. The U.S. Census found that the number of Americans who work primarily from home has more than doubled since 2019. Though the numbers have leveled off, we now have about six years of data on the effects and side effects of the work-from-home revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, remote workers love the increased flexibility, more time at home, and shortened or eliminated commutes. Studies have even shown that remote workers are just as productive as, if not more productive than, their in-office counterparts. The only problem is that brand-new research shows that, for all the benefits of remote work, it\u2019s making us sadder and lonelier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Landmark study reveals negative mental health effects of working from home<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A massive research study was recently published in the journal Science. Researchers analyzed data from surveys conducted between 2011 and 2024, excluding the peak COVID years (which could muddy the picture of participants\u2019 mental health). Overall, 588,322 people were surveyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The surveys revealed some alarming trends:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, workers in \u201cremotable\u201d jobs spent more time alone each day, spent more days per week completely alone, and did less socializing after work.
Workers who lived alone saw a huge increase in the number of days they spent without any social contact whatsoever.
Remote workers also showed higher levels of psychological distress, including higher rates of depression and more frequent use of antidepressants.
The authors conclude, \u201cOur results suggest that remote work substantially increases isolation and worsens mental health, particularly for those living alone. Although a large body of research finds that workers want to work remotely, our findings suggest that workers may not realize the costs of remote work for their well-being, which may take time to accumulate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The return-to-office push is not the answer
Emma Harrington, one of the study\u2019s authors, told Scientific American that she experienced some of this herself when she began working remotely. There were days when she had almost no human contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat amount of isolation could have pretty detrimental mental health impacts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it would be easy to draw the wrong conclusions from the study. A mandated return-to-office (RTO) policy is not a magic-bullet solution to improving Americans\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, office culture has plenty of its own drawbacks. While it offers opportunities for more built-in human interaction, it also brings stressors like potentially long or expensive commutes, office politics, and more. Even so, plenty of in-office workers suffer from loneliness and depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I think is particularly important about this study is that it challenges the simplistic idea that a mandatory return to the office is the solution,\u201d Tiffany Ramm, a licensed therapist and resilience coach, told Upworthy. \u201cIn my experience, forcing someone back into an office does not automatically create meaningful connection. Sitting next to people is not the same as belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How American adults can find more connection while working remotely<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe larger issue may be that many American adults have lost the skills and opportunities needed to build friendships outside of school and work,\u201d Ramm said. \u201cResearch consistently shows that adults report having fewer close friendships than previous generations, and many acknowledge that making friends becomes significantly harder with age due to life transitions, geographic moves, family responsibilities, and fewer built-in social environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few expert-approved ways to make working remotely a little less lonely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creating rituals<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commutes are a frustrating reality of living in America, but in some ways, they get a bad rap. While no one enjoys sitting in traffic for an hour or spending a fortune on gas, the commute is a ritual that marks the beginning and end of the workday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intentionally reclaiming that time as your own and creating a new ritual while working remotely can do wonders. Instead of listening to a podcast in traffic, it could be a walk, a morning workout, or simply sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee before diving into emails. This won\u2019t address isolation per se, but it can help with mental health and burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Setting boundaries<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many remote workers feel like their workday never ends because pings and emails continue to pour in, bleeding into dinnertime and beyond. Before their feet even touch the floor in the morning, they\u2019re checking Slack, Microsoft Teams, and email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recreating a semblance of normal office hours and establishing expectations about when you are and are not reachable is key to maintaining a boundary between your work and home life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Remote\u2019 doesn\u2019t have to mean \u2018work from home\u2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA better solution is to create remote work options with mental health in mind. Maybe that means having a few days where you work from a coffee shop, friend\u2019s house, or coworking space. Or maybe you schedule a walking meeting instead of another video call or schedule a regular lunch meet-up with another remote worker,\u201d Bella McCormick, a licensed therapist at the Lily Center of Chicago, told Upworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building social skills<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making friends and finding hobbies as a busy adult is genuinely hard. It\u2019s only made more difficult by a world that\u2019s becoming more digital and less connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Ramm says that the people who do best with remote work were highly social beforehand. For people who are shy, introverted, or socially anxious, remote work can \u201camplify those vulnerabilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, we have to get creative. If work happy hours and office parties are out, we might push ourselves to run errands with a friend instead of alone, or even become more active chatting about non-work activities on the company Slack. Ramm also suggests finding a \u201cthird place,\u201d such as a fitness class, volunteer organization, or hobby group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Workplaces can do their part to improve worker morale, too
Marina Glebovskaia told Upworthy that her company, Muse Group, was determined to tackle the \u201cworkday never ends\u201d crisis. So leadership implemented an intentional asynchronous policy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are several practices that we implement in our daily routine, and one of them is a 72 hour response window. Unless it is an emergency, teammates have up to 72 hours to respond thoughtfully to a message or request.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She says it gives people the flexibility to use remote work in ways that fill their cup without feeling the need to be \u201calways on.\u201d Then they can come back and respond thoughtfully when they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work-organized camaraderie events can help, too. The dreaded Zoom happy hour can be a little awkward, but much like a traffic-filled commute, it might do more for our mental health than we realize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And of course, company leaders need to demonstrate how to set and respect boundaries, achieve work-life balance, and identify employees who might be struggling with mental health before they\u2019re really in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of people prefer to work from home, but they don\u2019t always realize how isolating and lonely it can be\u2014especially over time. A few tweaks to our work-from-home rituals and routines, and even the occasional day in the office, can allow us to get the most out of the flexibility and freedom remote work offers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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