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The Problem with Remote Work

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We love working at home.

And. Maybe we’re missing something when it comes to our appreciation for remote work?

A couple of labor economists are pointing out that working from home has definite downsides. And those issues are catching up with us, now that we’ve been Zooming, Teamsing, and conference calling into work for six years or more.

Here’s the big one. “Despite its advantages, remote work has significantly deepened Americans’ isolation and distress.”

Emma Harrington and Natalia Emanuel have both worked at home themselves, and they readily admit there are some big advantages to the flexibility we have working in our own homes and being able to keep an eye on our children in the process.

But they say the data—and they’ve looked at a lot of it—is clear.

Overall, mental health deteriorated between 2011 and 2024. And remote work accounts for a third of that decline.

Only 16% of remote workers have any direct contact with another person during their workday. And not surprisingly, more than half of them feel less connected to their colleagues.

Of course, working at home usually includes some online meetings or phone conversations with co-workers. But even then, remote workers say they get less feedback, and they don’t have much contact with people outside their immediate team.

You might think we’d make up for it by socializing more outside of work. Most of us don’t.

And we miss out on all those random exchanges with the guy sitting next to us on the train, or the barista, or the woman riding up in the elevator with us.

It may be that life in general is just getting harder these days. But the research shows those of us who work in jobs that can be remote have seen bigger increases in distress, therapy sessions, and antidepressant prescriptions than people whose work has to be done in person.

The increase in depression began in 2020 and hasn’t eased up since then.

The negative impact of working at home isn’t universal though. Harrington and Emanuel will explain in a book coming out this fall that people who live with a partner and kids didn’t experience nearly as big a decline in mental well-being as those who live alone.

What to do about all this?

The economists acknowledge in a New York Times essay that an awful lot of people like remote work.

Maybe they don’t recognize the gradual increase in loneliness, or maybe they attribute it to something else. Either way, they’re not eager to rush back into the office.

Still, Harrington and Emanuel argue for employers to facilitate more face-to-face connections. Say, setting up weekly conversations between coworkers. Reorganizing coffee spaces so more people gather, even briefly. Revamping performance reviews.

They also suggest that employees can take the initiative by inviting their colleagues to a happy hour or lunch.

I wouldn’t take issue with any of that. But it relies heavily on research showing “workplaces top any other place of social capital generation.” A fancy way of saying adults often make friends and find their romantic partners at work.

What if we look for connections elsewhere?

I do have a few friends (and lots of social media contacts!) from various jobs over the years. Just the other day, I had a long talk with a dear friend I met at my first radio gig in the early 70’s. We’ve been friends for a long time.

But most of my on-the-job relationships ended or gradually tapered off when I changed gigs. And a lot of those jobs were pretty short-lived. While they lasted, I went out for drinks or dinner with a colleague now and then, but most of those connections didn’t last beyond the pink slip.

And in the meantime, I’ve developed relationships with neighbors, people I met at networking gatherings, and even Facebook friends.

Haven’t you found friendships outside of your workplace? And maybe more to the point, shouldn’t you find friendships outside of your workplace?

Ah, we’re talking the Third Place, aren’t we?

You know the “Third Place.” It’s not home. It’s not work. It’s probably not Starbucks, although there was a time when they announced they were going to be our Third Place.

This place to create relationships that’s not your home or your work could be a coffee shop, of course. Or the library. Or a church, synagogue, or mosque. Or a yoga studio. Or an art class. Or the dog park. Or … well, the possibilities are nearly endless, aren’t they?

And the responsibility is ours, along with the opportunities.

Rather than insist on returning to the office so the boss can connect us, we can each ease that much-discussed isolation and stress by making the effort to put ourselves in the company of others.

That might mean a face-to-face meeting with colleagues, but it could just as well be signing up for a pottery class.

There’s no denying that regular, ongoing communication with our fellow human beings matters. How are you making those connections, and are you ready to make more of them? Let us know with a comment below.