Much has been written about whether remote work affects productivity. But a new study on the impact of remote work since the Covid period, published in the journal Science, shows that working from home can be a major risk factor for depression, isolation and other mental and physical conditions, especially for those who live alone.
The study by economists Natalia Emanuel, of the NY Federal Reserve Bank, and University of Virginia professor Emma Harrington found that remote workers may not realize the challenges working from home presents; most studies focus on productivity rather than well-being. "Understanding remote work's impact on mental health is important for workers deciding where to work and for firms and governments setting remote-work policies," the authors stated.
The study focused on "remotable jobs"– jobs amenable to remote work, like software engineering and marketing, compared to jobs requiring a physical presence, like nursing. Remote jobs have increased significantly since the start of the Covid pandemic. Their impact has been significant.
For remote workers living alone after the pandemic, the likelihood of spending a whole day without any social contact rose by 7 percentage points to 83%. Workers in remotable jobs spent approximately one additional hour alone per workday after the pandemic and there was less after-work socializing. By 2024, they spent 31.1% of workdays fully remote, compared with peers at only 8.9%.
Scores on a standard psychological screening scale that measures conditions like anxiety and depression rose compared to scores for non-remotable jobs, and for those not living with family, almost doubled. They also had the sharpest increase in isolation. There were also increases in the frequency of depression, use of mental health care services and antidepressant prescriptions. Other measures, such as feeling worthless, hopeless, restless, nervous, that everything is an effort, and sad, also rose.
"The analyzed period saw a general increase in mental distress. Our analysis suggests that remote work accounts for roughly a third of that increase," the researchers stated.
"Although a large body of research finds that workers want to work remotely, our findings suggest that workers may not realize the costs of remote work for their well-being, which may take time to accumulate," the report noted. It cited studies showing that most workers say they enjoy remote work, and typically report being willing to take a 4-10% pay cut in exchange. The seeming contradiction may be due to the fact that the costs of remote work take time to manifest.
Nevertheless, rates of anxiety or depression were higher among remote (14%) and hybrid (9%) workers. One factor was being isolated from the workplace, where many workers make friends. Social isolation is also a powerful predictor of mortality, similar to smoking or high blood pressure, the report stated, based on medical studies.
The report noted that before the pandemic, people working in non-remotable jobs tended to have marginally more stress than those in remote jobs. But with the onset of the pandemic, the situation reversed. "Mental distress rose precipitously for those who were in remote jobs, for whom time alone ballooned." In contrast, there were only marginal changes for those in non-remote jobs.
"These findings can help guide individuals deciding how to structure their work, organizations determining their workplace policies, and governments shaping the legal landscape around where work takes place," the report said.
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