Home alone: Remote work, isolation, and mental health • Hacker News Board

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

#51

Post by small_model » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

aok1425 wrote: post #47

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.

The abstract of the article says that folks who have remote work are more socially isolated, even after work hours. Maybe WFH allows folks to be more social with the people they want, but the abstract says that they socialise less overall, and are more socially isolated.

Most people live with a spouse , kids, room mates though, I live with my family and they are generally around so get plenty of company (too much sometimes). This is about living alone AND WFH, then yes might be good to go to the office.

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

#52

Post by zelphirkalt » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

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…

I had 1on1s every 2 weeks and it was always annoying. Partially, because I didn't feel like "opening up" to this team lead and didn't feel like he was on my side or had my back at all. In the end I should be proven right, due to something he did when I left the company and also right before I left, which was one of the reasons I left. Turned out my gut feeling was right, to distrust this guy. He probably just went through the motions of what he had read somewhere of how to be a team lead, instead of really being in it.

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

#53

Post by gbraad » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

tchalla wrote: post #42

> Our results suggest that remote work substantially increases isolation and worsens mental health, particularly for those living alone. Another angle - people don't know how to deal with isolation if not their work. Remote work has accelerated an aspect that we already knew existed. Social systems are tied ONLY around work which is not healthy.

In most cultures "what do you do" is the first question that people ask, but answered with their job position in most Western countries.

In most other places, people will respond with their current activity, or their hobby or even religion or believe.

A lot of our culture revolves around work giving us meaning and satisfaction. And this is very obvious now due to recent layoffs and how people are affected in feeling/prospect because of this.

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

#54

Post by ronbenton » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:20 PM UTC

Very happy I had my wife and kids throughout the pandemic and continued remote work since then. I would not have done well otherwise.

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

#55

Post by XorNot » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:21 PM UTC

dyauspitr wrote: post #17

28304283409234 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'll settle if they double the height so my eyes don't get blasted by sun glare.

There's beautiful views from my current office..but my job is a screen all day and having dim interior lighting versus direct sun fighting it out across my retinas means the effect is entirely lost on me.

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

#56

Post by fdgfikgfv » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:21 PM UTC

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…

I wasn’t homeschooled but I have been working from home for good part of last two decades. And I have not felt any negative effects of it.

In fact, it forced me to go out seek friends in local communities like meetups and various clubs. I have a feeling that people who feel isolated due to WFH would be same people who don’t interact with anyone in the offices as well.

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

#57

Post by cogogo » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

dyauspitr wrote: post #17

28304283409234 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is all about control and bad leaders do not know how to lead without doing “drive bys.”

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

#58

Post by ahtihn » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

small_model wrote: post #43

oytis wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Why is more isolation negative, should be a spectrum, 98% alone and the rest socialising.

I prefer being alone but also feel worse after prolonged periods alone.

Preferring something doesn't mean it's good for you.

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

#59

Post by hypfer » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

For all the good this shift brought, I think a lot of people genuinely just aren't made for remote working.

This _can_ also happen in IT and tech, however I think it's more of an issue in all the non-IT spaces that _also_ went remote due to the pandemic.

IT tends to favor a specific cluster of brain wiring that is more likely to strive in such environments, which I think often skews our perspective on things.

Employee management is just hard. At least if you actually try that is.

If you just go with "lol RTO all the way" or "lol remote work all the way", you do not have much work at all. Just likely unhappy employees.

Hyperscaling (and scale in general) unfortunately sets incentives in ways that make good employee management less likely to happen. Oh well.

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

#60

Post by JackFr » Sat, Jun 06, 2026, 10:23 PM UTC

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.

Socializing != socialization.

The first is enjoying the company of friends, while the second is a sociological process of internalizing cultural norms and appropriate behavior. How to behave in a group, how to approach a stranger, how to respond to someone who irritates you, etc.