Remote work is enjoyable for employees, but it's harmful to their mental health: research findings

Americans regularly say they enjoy the ability to work from home because they don't have to commute to the office. However, new research shows that this freedom has a downside, reports CBS News.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York economist Natalia Emanuel published a study in the journal Science that found that remote work often increases productivity, but also increases feelings of social isolation and leads to mental health problems.

Surveys consistently show that employees are satisfied with the remote work environment and are even willing to sacrifice some of their salary for flexibility. People who work remotely are more likely to report higher job satisfaction and a better work-life balance. However, as Emanuel's research suggests, ditching the office has long-term consequences that are worth considering.

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"We found that remote work increases time spent alone, worsens psychological well-being across a range of indicators, and leads to increased use of mental health services and prescriptions for related medications," the study states.

The authors note that although employees prefer to work remotely, many may underestimate the impact it has on their well-being, as the negative consequences accumulate gradually. The findings are based on data from five national surveys of workers across various industries.

The price of loneliness

The share of remote workers in the US has grown from 7% in 2019 to 28% in 2023. This sharp increase is largely due to the pandemic.

Over a roughly ten-year period before and after the pandemic, remote workers spent 58% more time alone than those working in an office, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They also experienced significantly more days when they had no contact with other people at all. This, according to the researchers, means "no quick conversation with a barista, no greeting from a coworker, no smile from a random person at the store."

"As work became more isolated, people did not significantly increase their socializing outside of work hours, a finding confirmed by other studies," the authors write. "Ultimately, the rise of remote work led to a significant increase in the total time people spend alone."

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Isolation has increased especially noticeably among those living alone. According to the study, this directly impacts workers' mental health and partially explains the increase in psychological distress in the US in the post-COVID-19 period compared to pre-COVID-19 times.

For example, remote workers are more likely to consult mental health professionals and take prescription psychiatric medications. However, researchers have not observed a similar increase in the use of other medications, such as statins for lowering cholesterol.

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