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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

#31

Post by Jcampuzano2 »

gbraad wrote: post #26

This is also why having a good manager is key; I worked as an engineering manager and kept a near weekly 1-1 with my engineers, not per se to socialize, but to allow them to ask questions about the tasks, implementation comments, etc. but the environment I created allowed them to talk other stuff. All my associates appreciated this mix of technical talk, but also fun discussions, etc. I am sure it help them to stay a…

Maybe my managers have always sucked or I'm terrible at sharing info or not very chatty with people at work but I've personally always found weekly 1-1's to end up being fairly useless.

May just be a person by person thing though, not saying what you have is bad per say.

Very rarely did anything actually get discussed of any meaning. Ive always found them to end up just being another annoying meeting in my calendar.

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

#33

Post by watwut »

ubertaco wrote: post #10

This reminds me of growing up as a homeschooled kid and hearing people ask my parents "but how will they socialize?", generally while we were at the youth soccer field or at the playground or somewhere else that the irony should have caught their attention. Homeschooled kids can be isolated more because they don't have the forcing function of mandatory group settings, but often there are other opportunities available…

Homeschooled people just assume others must be unhappy in those places where they dont go, but that is not the case and not shown in statistics.

Also, those people asking the question you find weird were asking about the experiences and kind of socialization that they consider big deal and was not going on in that place.

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

#34

Post by tamimio »

Yeah, remote work is good, many factors need to be there for it to be great, otherwise, it becomes mentally exhausting. The line between work and personal life blurs, it’s great if you have family but also not great because sometimes it distracts you or add more responsibilities on you, the isolation is something to consider too, I had an interview with a company before where they required to do the work exclusively in your house (so can’t do cafe library etc), obviously bad. There’s also the boss/family/society view that remote work isn’t “real work” and you are slacking all day, so you have your company adding more measures to track you, you boss throwing more work at you, your family are asking you other tasks to do since you are home already! I found the best combo is having an office to go to, but close so commute isn’t an issue, and you go few times a week with flexible schedules.

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

#36

Post by mschulkind »

Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #31
gbraad wrote: post #26

This is also why having a good manager is key; I worked as an engineering manager and kept a near weekly 1-1 with my engineers, not per se to socialize, but to allow them to ask questions about the tasks, implementation comments, etc. but the environment I created allowed them to talk other stuff. All my associates appreciated this mix of technical talk, but also fun discussions, etc. I am sure it help them to stay a…

Maybe my managers have always sucked or I'm terrible at sharing info or not very chatty with people at work but I've personally always found weekly 1-1's to end up being fairly useless. May just be a person by person thing though, not saying what you have is bad per say. Very rarely did anything actually get discussed of any meaning. Ive always found them to end up just being another annoying meeting in my calendar.

I've found what works best here is just switching to every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks. If you have little to talk about in a 1:1, feel free to end early, and then double the length of time until the next one.

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

#37

Post by gbraad »

Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #31
gbraad wrote: post #26

This is also why having a good manager is key; I worked as an engineering manager and kept a near weekly 1-1 with my engineers, not per se to socialize, but to allow them to ask questions about the tasks, implementation comments, etc. but the environment I created allowed them to talk other stuff. All my associates appreciated this mix of technical talk, but also fun discussions, etc. I am sure it help them to stay a…

Maybe my managers have always sucked or I'm terrible at sharing info or not very chatty with people at work but I've personally always found weekly 1-1's to end up being fairly useless. May just be a person by person thing though, not saying what you have is bad per say. Very rarely did anything actually get discussed of any meaning. Ive always found them to end up just being another annoying meeting in my calendar.

If the engineer didn't want, I never forced them. I made them meaningful. Even had an engineer ask me to continue with them after he changed to another manager.

And no, not all conversations were easy. The hardest for me was with my associates in an active warzone.

I often heard associates complain that their previous manager didn't have effective talk; mostly just asked "how was your weekend". Associates care you understand them, if they have difficulty with the monetary discussion you help them with this too, etc. for me, their growth helps building the team, and the overall well being influences that!

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

#38

Post by sublinear »

reg_dunlop wrote: post #11
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 remo…

> illusion of social activity

This is so spot on.

I would like to see stats for introverts who do not have mental health issues. Those living alone and working from home probably have the best outcomes across the board.

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

#39

Post by oytis »

small_model wrote: post #35

But if I want to be social why does it have to be people I didnt choose (i.e. co workers). Why can I WFH and socialise with my family/friends who I choose to be with. This is basically nothing to do with remote work and more about isolation.

I mean, it's right there in the abstract. The study showed that people working remotely were more isolated outside of work too.

Personally I enjoy working remotely and value time spent alone, but the data looks interesting

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

#40

Post by gbraad »

mschulkind wrote: post #36
Jcampuzano2 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe my managers have always sucked or I'm terrible at sharing info or not very chatty with people at work but I've personally always found weekly 1-1's to end up being fairly useless. May just be a person by person thing though, not saying what you have is bad per say. Very rarely did anything actually get discussed of any meaning. Ive always found them to end up just being another annoying meeting in my calendar.

I've found what works best here is just switching to every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks. If you have little to talk about in a 1:1, feel free to end early, and then double the length of time until the next one.

Yep, time box it, so you know you have time, but allow it to e shorter!!!! Or reschedule. Mostly I had 20mins, every week with most. Some became 45mins or more, as we rambled on about tech or some other topic. And one requested it once every 2 weeks. Fine with me. If that makes them feel better, please.
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