Not for this worker bee, but loners might need to take care.
Ever since the covid pandemic erupted, your Back Page scribbler has been a die-hard work-from-homer.
After four decades of enduring reliably unreliable Sydney commuter trains and the ninth circle of Dantean hell that is open-plan office spaces, the comforts and convenience of the light-filled oasis of tranquillity that is our dedicated home office is irresistible.
But perhaps working from home is not always the godsend it seems to be on the surface – at least for some sectors of society – if a new study published this month in the journal Science is to be given credence.
This study’s findings suggest that remote work can have its downsides, such as increasing isolation and worsening mental health, especially for people who live alone.
To reach this conclusion, US boffins analysed data from more than half a million American workers surveyed between 2011 and 2024, excluding the peak covid pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
They tracked two types of workers: those in “remotable” jobs that could shift to working from home because of the pandemic, such as software engineering, and those in jobs that relied upon in-person labour, such as nursing and cooking.
The research team then looked at changes in time spent alone, based on respondents’ self-reported daily activities, and mental health, drawing on surveys that measured psychological distress, depression, mental health care use and data on prescriptions.
The work-from-homers were more likely to report feeling “anxious, depressed, and being socially isolated” compared with those who made the trek into the office.
The study said home workers spent about one extra hour alone each workday compared with in-office workers and, importantly, and they didn’t make up for this isolation with after-hours activities.
“We even see a decrease in spending time with friends after the workday relative to people in non-remotable occupations,” study lead author Dr Natalia Emanuel, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told media.
The authors were quick to emphasise, however, that they were not suggesting that working from home did not have its benefits, especially for people living together as families as well as for folks who might otherwise have difficulties accessing office facilities. Rather, that the potential negatives of home-working for some employees should not be downplayed.
The key to the best outcomes, the authors suggest, is for employers to provide flexible choices for employees rather than mandate one or the other option for work locations.
This, of course, will come as no surprise to the intrepid toilers at the Moose Republic, where the enlightened and benevolent management (that means you, Jeremy) has always trusted the staff to behave like responsible adults.
Whether she’s working from home or in the office, Holly@medicalrepublic.com.au will always welcome your story tips.
