New Delhi: Studies worldwide have observed that work from home leads to higher worker productivity. However, a recent study in the United States has found that it also increases social isolation, loneliness, and mental distress.
“Scores on the Kessler (K-6) measure of generalized psychological distress rose by 0.1 standard deviations for those in remotable jobs relative to those in nonremotable jobs,” the study said.
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale is a six-item self-report questionnaire that maps the frequency of a respondent experiencing six specific emotional states. While the increase may seem small, its impact becomes significant at the population level.
The researchers analysed data from five representative surveys of Americans spanning 2011 to 2024, excluding the pandemic years of 2020-2021. In total, the study included 588,322 respondents. It is authored by Natalia Emanuel, research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Emma Harrington, assistant professor of economics at the University of Virginia; and Amanda Pallais, economics professor at Harvard University.
“The rise in isolation was sharpest for those living alone, whose likelihood of spending the whole day without social contact rose by 7 percentage points (83%),” said the study published in Science on 4 June.
The study found that the increase in mental distress for Americans living alone was roughly twice as large compared to those living with family. The frequency of depression, utilisation of mental health care, and antidepressant prescriptions also increased. Workers’ visits to non-mental health care providers and non-mental health prescriptions did not increase differentially. So, the increase in accessing mental health care isn’t driven by increased flexibility for doctor visits alone.
“When work became more isolated, people did not substantially compensate by socializing more outside of work hours, as also found elsewhere. As a result, the rise of remote work translated into large increases in overall time spent alone,” the paper said.
Mental distress increased generally over the analysed period. According to the researchers, work from home accounts for roughly a third of that increase.
Limitations of the study
The researchers noted some limitations of their study.
“We cannot determine whether there are particular subpopulations for whom remote work may have positive effects on their mental health, but we believe that exploring heterogeneity would offer valuable insights,” they wrote.
Another problem is that the data under study ends in 2024. It becomes difficult to capture long-term adaptations among remote workers.
“If those in remotable jobs have made compensatory changes—such as cultivating social connections outside of work—they may not yet have reaped the full benefits,” the researchers noted.
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