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Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

science.org

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Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#11

Post by reg_dunlop »

j45 wrote: post #9

Working remotely or in an office requires a routine that includes having other interests and hobbies scheduled and on the calendar.

All things being equal, if a person works remotely, apparently they're more likely to trend reclusive.

At the same time, a person working in an office has the illusion of social activity.

Just because a person works in an office doesn't mean they're more well adjusted socially, or more active.

Just because a person works remotely doesn't mean they're a recluse.

Life requires effort and being engaged. Though as a remote worker myself, I do appreciate the tendency to not make an effort. However, when I do make an effort, the effort is easier and the reward greater than social activities that'd be available during an office job.

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#12

Post by gxs »

It’s hard for me not to be cynical

When the city of San Francisco is handing out tax breaks to companies for forcing RTO in shitty Bay Area infrastructure and Paul Graham loudly and proudly calls wfh communism, it’s hard to not take these findings with a grain of salt

Even if true, I am positive the solution isn’t to stuff people back into offices and rob them of the little leverage they got during covid

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#13

Post by 28304283409234 »

ajkjk wrote: post #3

> After the pandemic, workers in remote-capable jobs spent more time working alone and avoided social activities with their friends, remaining more isolated both during and after work. This pattern was most pronounced among remote workers living alone: They spent entire days without human contact and their mental distress, use of mental healthcare, and antidepressants increased acutely. One of those results which is…

I'm sure this is true. Also true is the mental distress I experience having to work in an crazy noisy open office space. Give me an actual office, and I'll go there.

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#14

Post by gobdovan »

light_hue_1 wrote: post #4

This is a shamefully bad paper hyped up to make Science relevant but with a result that has no relationship at all to what's even in the title, never mind abstract. The sad part is, this is going to be used to hurt workers everywhere! Come back to work for your own mental health. They don't compare remote vs non-remote workers. They compare workers in job families that could be remote vs workers in job families that…

> They spent entire days without human contact and their mental distress, use of mental healthcare, and antidepressants increased acutely

You simply can't end an abstract/"editor's summary" with this kind of phrase when your whole field for decades has claimed seeking care and treatment is encouraged and should be viewed as positive. Although I understand they're used as proxy measurements, I can't take seriously a publication so careless in how it expresses itself.

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#17

Post by dyauspitr »

28304283409234 wrote: post #13
ajkjk wrote: post #3

> After the pandemic, workers in remote-capable jobs spent more time working alone and avoided social activities with their friends, remaining more isolated both during and after work. This pattern was most pronounced among remote workers living alone: They spent entire days without human contact and their mental distress, use of mental healthcare, and antidepressants increased acutely. One of those results which is…

I'm sure this is true. Also true is the mental distress I experience having to work in an crazy noisy open office space. Give me an actual office, and I'll go there.

An actual office is not even that expensive. All they have to do is double the height of the cubicle walls and slap a door on there but they won’t do it.

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#18

Post by antonvs »

light_hue_1 wrote: post #4

This is a shamefully bad paper hyped up to make Science relevant but with a result that has no relationship at all to what's even in the title, never mind abstract. The sad part is, this is going to be used to hurt workers everywhere! Come back to work for your own mental health. They don't compare remote vs non-remote workers. They compare workers in job families that could be remote vs workers in job families that…

There's a reason people look at the institutions that a study comes from. In this case it's:

* Federal Reserve Bank of New York

* Department of Economics, University of Virginia

* Department of Economics, Harvard University

They're not doing anything to help the reputation of economics and economists.

Re: Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health

#19

Post by antonvs »

gxs wrote: post #12

It’s hard for me not to be cynical When the city of San Francisco is handing out tax breaks to companies for forcing RTO in shitty Bay Area infrastructure and Paul Graham loudly and proudly calls wfh communism, it’s hard to not take these findings with a grain of salt Even if true, I am positive the solution isn’t to stuff people back into offices and rob them of the little leverage they got during covid

> Paul Graham loudly and proudly calls wfh communism

I missed that. Deets?

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