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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

#111

Post by tpmoney »

zimpenfish wrote: post #70
obscurette wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being forced to interact with people you haven't chosen to socialize is good for your mental health and for society. People interacting with different people are less afraid of the world, more trusting etc. Clustering into echochambers is bad for society as a whole.

> Being forced to interact with people you haven't chosen to socialize is good for your mental health and for society. That may well be true for some extroverted people, yes; it is 100% absolutely not true for "all people". You force me to interact with people I haven't chosen and there's a reasonably high probability that I'll subsequently choose to never interact with you again.[0] > People interacting with differe…

> That may well be true for some extroverted people, yes

It's true for some of us introverted people as well, especially given that without some "reason" to get together, some of us might never interact with another person ever.

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

#112

Post by crab_galaxy »

tpmoney wrote: post #104
stringfood wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst thing about office friends is they immediatley cease to be friends when you are laid off or change jobs, only maybe 2% do I actually stay in contact with, and frankly that is just because of the nostalgia I have of working with them and the networking benefits. Work friends are not friends. People you meet near your home and at your book club are more likely to stick around through the thick and thin. That…

> Work friends are not friends. This is reductive to the point of absurdity. Situational friends are still friends. How many of your elementary school friends are still your friends these days? High school? Summer camp? Heck college friends? Unless you're living in the same town with the same people, there's a good chance that most of them aren't anymore. Were these people also not your friends? When you leave that b…

Personally I think you’re both correct but I also think you’re talking about most people‘s definition of an acquaintance.

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

#113

Post by munificent »

tianqi wrote: post #71

I don't understand how the research methodology used in the article supports this conclusion. How did they rule out the possibility that the post-pandemic economic situation has had a greater impact on these jobs, leading to greater stress? How did they we rule out that remote work has led to greater range of outsourcing, resulting in more intense competition for these jobs, rather than that caused by the lack of soc…

> How did they rule out the possibility that the post-pandemic economic situation has had a greater impact on these jobs, leading to greater stress?

I only skimmed the paper, but I presume it is comparing remote workers to non-remote workers who also have gone through the same post-pandemic economic situation.

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

#114

Post by tpmoney »

crab_galaxy wrote: post #112
tpmoney wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Work friends are not friends. This is reductive to the point of absurdity. Situational friends are still friends. How many of your elementary school friends are still your friends these days? High school? Summer camp? Heck college friends? Unless you're living in the same town with the same people, there's a good chance that most of them aren't anymore. Were these people also not your friends? When you leave that b…

Personally I think you’re both correct but I also think you’re talking about most people‘s definition of an acquaintance.

But then what is a friend? If a "friendship" ever ends, does that mean it was never a friendship at all? I've had very good friends, people I've shared houses with, helped move, been to their weddings and they've been to mine. And it's easily been 10 years since we last saw each other or talked. We even still live in the same city as far as I know, but our lives have taken us down different paths, and we've each been busy in other ways and places and the few times we've tried to coordinate something it just fell through. But you can't call someone you chose to live with an "acquaintance" in my opinion, but our friendship ended (or at least became one in name only) when life forces no longer pushed us together.

In my opinion I consider a friendship any relationship where no matter how long ago it ended or how long ago you last talked you wouldn't mind hearing from them again, even if it might only be awkward small talk. Old schoolmates, college roommates, military squadmates, and co-workers can all be friends. They can all be acquaintances too. But crucially the fact that you stopped talking at one point or stopped spending time together isn't the demarcating factor between the two.

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

#115

Post by bonoboTP »

poszlem wrote: post #92
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.

Interestingly, when times were good, companies did everything in their power to pull employees' hobbies, interests, and social lives into the workplace. Hence the huge "campuses" and all the rest. Now, suddenly, everyone is surprised that people have no life outside of work. This may turn out to be a huge wake-up call, perhaps even for the best. People may start going back to a proper 9-to-5, closing their laptops at…

There will always be people who are willing to put in the time and grind a few years in their 20s to achieve a better life for themselves and their future family, even if you would prioritize other things. It's ge theory and you don't have power over them in such laptop jobs. Your best available tool is to shame them and make striving and overtime be shunned. Many cultures have this, it's like tall poppy syndrome, but more general. But in individualistic cultures like the US, they won't care about your opinion. They are on a path whether you like it or not. If you want to have Germany-level work-life balance, you'll have to make do with Germany-level salaries, but I assume you sill want US style 6 figures just with 9-to-5...

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

#116

Post by wonderwonder »

Mwntalhwalth wrote: post #91

Wfh since long before covid (15 years) . It will 100% burn you out slowly while you think you are better and stronger than it. Feels good at the beginning likely b.c your current job is super toxic and your away from your boss but there are many factors largely due to isolation that will settle in. To survive wfh you need to concentrate heavily on early morning sunlight, walks throughout the day, yoga, acupuncture, b…

I’ve been isolated via work from home for so long I don’t even see people who aren’t my wife and kids as real anymore. When I interact with them it’s like they are just npc’s in a game. They vanish as soon as they are out of sight to preserve system resources. Wife will start talking to me about someone Ive met 5 times before and I have no idea who she’s talking about.

I literally don’t know anyone outside of my household and I’m completely fine with it. It’s just how things are now.

I have the gym and that’s enough

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

#117

Post by nextos »

budududuroiu wrote: post #23

Haven't been in an office since the start of COVID. Between being lucky enough to have a great coliving setup with dope housemates, and now having access to co-working cafes in Taipei that have genuine communities, I feel more social than ever with more meaningful connections. I still commute to the cafes, for me remote working is about not having to be tied to a geographic spot in order to keep my source of income,…

True, there's also another factor about not having to be tied to a geographic spot, housing costs.

In EU, even relatively good IT salaries are mediocre when you factor in monthly rental. A simple one-bed apartment can easily take 50% of your net income.

Having freedom to move, even within a particular country, allows reducing that 50% to something more sustainable.

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

#119

Post by throw-the-towel »

stringfood wrote: post #89
budududuroiu wrote: post #23

Haven't been in an office since the start of COVID. Between being lucky enough to have a great coliving setup with dope housemates, and now having access to co-working cafes in Taipei that have genuine communities, I feel more social than ever with more meaningful connections. I still commute to the cafes, for me remote working is about not having to be tied to a geographic spot in order to keep my source of income,…

The worst thing about office friends is they immediatley cease to be friends when you are laid off or change jobs, only maybe 2% do I actually stay in contact with, and frankly that is just because of the nostalgia I have of working with them and the networking benefits. Work friends are not friends. People you meet near your home and at your book club are more likely to stick around through the thick and thin. That…

Genuine question: why do you expect them to stay your best friends forever? Is just seeing other humans not valuable enough? Your POV strikes me as very all-or-nothing.
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