By Emma Harrington and Natalia Emanuel. They are labor economists and authors of the forthcoming book “In Person: How Working Together Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Growth.” Excerpts:
"Despite its advantages, remote work has significantly deepened Americans’ isolation and distress."
"remote work explains a third of the deterioration in mental health between 2011 and 2024."
"Our study compares workers in jobs that could be done remotely, such as finance and software engineering, with workers in jobs that must be done in person. People in remote-capable jobs worked from home three times as often in 2024 as in 2019. As they did, their days became far more solitary. Eighty-four percent of remote workers spend their workday entirely alone. Over half report feeling less connected to their colleagues. Even when communicating online, people working from home receive less feedback from their co-workers and contact fewer people outside their immediate teams."
"These workers did not compensate by socializing more outside work."
"In one study, when commuters were instructed to connect with a stranger near them, they reported being happier than those who continued in silence as usual"
"workers in jobs that can be remote saw steeper increases in distress, mental health visits and prescriptions for antidepressants than other workers did."
"People who lived with their spouse and kids saw their mental health hold fairly steady, while those who lived alone experienced a 20 percent decrease in mental well-being. Overall, we found that the rise of remote work increased distress by 7 percent, which accounts for a third of the total increase over the 13-year period we measured."
"remote work’s costs are subtle and slow. When loneliness sets in gradually, it is natural to blame other life changes"
"Our brains are wired to connect face-to-face, and even the most advanced digital tools are a poor substitute. To maintain this critical source of connection, workers need doses of in-person time with one another."
Also see The effects of remote work on the disability employment gap: A rise in work from home explains most of the post pandemic gain in full-time employment among people with physical disabilities by Tyler Smith. He summarizes work by Nicholas Bloom, Gordon B. Dahl, and Dan-Olof Rooth.
There were also some interesting letters to the NY Times about the Harrington and Emanuel article. See Must We Really Come Into the Office?
Related posts:
Want a Promotion? Try to Not Be So Remote
Can America’s Cities Make a Post-Pandemic Comeback? (interview with Glaeser)
Companies Start to Think Remote Work Isn’t So Great After All
Since people feel more disorganized and chaotic when they are at home, should business leaders take this into account when they consider whether to make remote working the norm after the pandemic subsides?
Remote work is surprisingly productive (for now, but what about in the long-run?)
Does a Raise or Remote Work Sound Better?
With No Commute, Americans Simply Worked More During Coronavirus
Work Flexibility, Popular With Employees, Is Hardly a Holy Grail
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