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Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

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Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#151

Post by btown »

dijit wrote: post #2

Article conflates digital nomadism with remote working in general. Remote work allows you to work from a space you control, eliminate commute and allows you to be able to walk around to clear your head without feeling guilty for not being in your seat. You could use it to travel, but I figure that would be a harder lifestyle and is not synonymous with “remote work”. The author did try working from home but the damage…

It's very possible to become isolated working remotely even in a familiar city, especially for introverted people. It's far easier to say "hey let's grab drinks after work" when I'd need to commute home from the office vs. when I'm already at home, with Netflix and Seamless mere inches away... and this becomes a very slippery slope. A week can go by with limited human interaction. And that's rarely a good thing.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#152

Post by tjoff »

barrkel wrote: post #30
EMM_386 wrote: post #13

I am a fully remote worker nowhere near my "office", which is simply where our company is technically HQd. I have never met my boss or any of my coworkers in person. I do highly technical work, on a team that only hires very senior developers who have prior remote work experience. And I can say, it is NOT for everyone. If you do not have a life out of work, if you live alone, if you do not have a good network of real…

I think you're conflating the migrant issue with the remote worker issue. Migrants have most of the issues you talk about; they're not close to their family networks, don't particularly feel that their current location is home, and where they came from certainly isn't home either. I did remote work from my home town for a few years, for a US company. The biggest issues for me were not being plugged in to the internal…

It's really common, migrant or not.

Just because you have family around doesn't mean you see them every week.

This becomes a huge problem if you don't get any social contact at work, even if you don't thrive in that environment I'd say that it is a necessity for the vast majority of people.

Even for introverts that thrive alone.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#153

Post by mantoto »

barrkel wrote: post #30
EMM_386 wrote: post #13

I am a fully remote worker nowhere near my "office", which is simply where our company is technically HQd. I have never met my boss or any of my coworkers in person. I do highly technical work, on a team that only hires very senior developers who have prior remote work experience. And I can say, it is NOT for everyone. If you do not have a life out of work, if you live alone, if you do not have a good network of real…

I think you're conflating the migrant issue with the remote worker issue. Migrants have most of the issues you talk about; they're not close to their family networks, don't particularly feel that their current location is home, and where they came from certainly isn't home either. I did remote work from my home town for a few years, for a US company. The biggest issues for me were not being plugged in to the internal…

Could be a bigger problem for migrants but doesn't has to be.

I know enough people without any family left or only one person left with relatives without a bond.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#154

Post by mantoto »

arkitaip wrote: post #126
Arubis wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If available, I strongly urge you to find a local coworking center that focuses on community (ie. not WeWork or a similar executive office relabeled as coworking). Try poking around on https://coworking.org/visa or https://wiki.coworking.org/w/page/29303049/Directory . I've been full-time remote for my entire software development career and have happily taken advantage of it for occasional travels and such, but for t…

Wait, a coworking center is a place you share with people who aren't your actual coworkers because you wanted to work remotely? Man, this new economy is out of sync.

I would love to move to an area where I can afford a proper piece of land.

The chances to find modern and interesting companies there is very unrealistic.

Put there an co-working office and there will be fast internet and social noise.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#155

Post by mantoto »

csunbird wrote: post #46
Tempest1981 wrote: post #39

This shocked me: "to encourage wellbeing: 40 days paid vacation per year: True disconnection is fundamental to help people de-stress and recharge." Is this common elsewhere in the world? In the US, it Seems like 10 or 15 days is the norm, and maybe 20 after 5 years. What do the FAANG+ companies offer? Does the 2 months of vacation also contribute to that disconnected feeling, I wonder?

in Germany, you are entitled to 20 days paid leave anually by law, plus most companies throw another 5 to 10 days.

At least dir me, 40h/week =30 days holiday.

Working in it for 10years always had those conditions in any job.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#156

Post by kpennell »

I really appreciate this discussion and article. I have struggled so much with anxiety/depression from remote working. I've tried so many things to help it. The only thing that helped was finally finding coworking spaces in Berlin/Oaxaca where there was some interaction. For whatever reason, I just could not click with any of the Oakland, CA ones.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#157

Post by csunbird »

mantoto wrote: post #155
csunbird wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in Germany, you are entitled to 20 days paid leave anually by law, plus most companies throw another 5 to 10 days.

At least dir me, 40h/week =30 days holiday. Working in it for 10years always had those conditions in any job.

If you are working on Saturdays too, you get 24 days annually, but if you are working 5 days per week, it is 20 annually.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#158

Post by blaser-waffle »

ben_jones wrote: post #83
EMM_386 wrote: post #13

I am a fully remote worker nowhere near my "office", which is simply where our company is technically HQd. I have never met my boss or any of my coworkers in person. I do highly technical work, on a team that only hires very senior developers who have prior remote work experience. And I can say, it is NOT for everyone. If you do not have a life out of work, if you live alone, if you do not have a good network of real…

Are you me? Some of my personal anecdotes going through the exact same circumstances (I'm also currently applying for dual US/Irish citizenship): 1) I hate working out. I don't want to do it. But when I do, I feel momentously better afterwards. I have not worked out consistently in the last 12 mo. 2) I hate cooking and cleaning up after cooking. I don't want to do it. But when I do, I feel better afterwards. I have n…

You're not alone here. Pretty much the same boat. USA-ian in a different country working remotely. Going on ~5 years now.

I can definitely echo the sentiments about gaining weight, working out, cooking, and depression and anxiety. I've got a grasp on the issues, and I could probably "make it work" for a while longer, but I'm old enough and at a point in my career where "make it work" is a lazy cop-out; I can afford to push for "good" or even "great", and feel like I should. But long term remote work just kills inertia.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#159

Post by blaser-waffle »

socceroos wrote: post #128
dromen wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me attempt to draw you a pyramid of home location needs: 5. Political situation - not a warzone? Not under sharia? Very democratic, or key to world issues you consider important? 4. Climate - no tundra/sahara? Would you benefit from living near the sea? 3. Food - is the local food edible? Is the local food cheap, including the restaurants? Or is it just very good? 2. Access to nature - do you want to try mountain…

Come live in Tasmania. We double-tick the top 4 on that list imho

Tried to live in the Oz after a working holiday visa! None of you all wanted to sponsor me -- and I had professional creds. Applied everywhere too.

AWS/Amazon Australia still send me recruiting emails occasionally.

Re: Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

#160

Post by blaser-waffle »

el_dev_hell wrote: post #123
EMM_386 wrote: post #13

I am a fully remote worker nowhere near my "office", which is simply where our company is technically HQd. I have never met my boss or any of my coworkers in person. I do highly technical work, on a team that only hires very senior developers who have prior remote work experience. And I can say, it is NOT for everyone. If you do not have a life out of work, if you live alone, if you do not have a good network of real…

> I can live wherever I want, but I don't know where I want to live! I can even move to Europe as I am a dual US/Irish citizen, but I don't know where I would want to go in Europe! I'm in a very similar situation. I can work from basically anywhere. For the first year of fully remote work, I moved all over my country. During the second year, I went abroad and spend 3ish months in several nearby countries. Now I'm ent…

Same. It was glorious for 2 years. Now going on ~5 years remote it's lonely and isolating. I can go anywhere... but where?
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