By Umber Bhatti

Many companies have recently enacted remote work policies, but at Buffer, we’ve been fully remote since our 2010 inception. While we experimented with a San Francisco office briefly, we’re committed to being a 100 percent remote and distributed team because of the many benefits we’ve found, including a happier team, more flexibility, and increased productivity.

And we’re not the only ones to feel this way – numerous organizations have experimented with remote work since the pandemic and the results have been mostly positive. But despite all of the good news, there have been ongoing discussions about the potential mental health consequences of remote work.

A tweet went viral on Twitter arguing that this shift – along with the trend of fewer meetings – will lead to more lonely and isolated people. While many commenters disagreed with the sentiment, others admitted that working from home had taken a toll on them.

100% remote work combined with a no meeting culture is going to create a large group of lonely, isolated workers

— Alex Cohen (@anothercohen) January 4, 2023

Our 2023 State of Remote Work survey also found that 33 percent of participants felt that they stayed home too often and didn’t have a reason to leave because of remote work.

This led me to examine my own relationship with remote work as well as ask some of my colleagues about their experience, which I’ll share in this blog post.

What the research says about remote work and mental health

The data on remote work and mental health can feel a bit murky. On the one hand, 71 percent of respondents from our 2023 State of Remote Work survey said they wanted to be fully remote. But on the other, certain people are experiencing negative side effects from this very work structure.

Microsoft’s 2022 New Future Work Report found some remote workers felt, “socially isolated, guilty, and trying to overcompensate.” Another 2023 study by Integrated Benefits Institute also concluded remote and hybrid work is associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety and depression symptoms compared to in-person work.  

I can sort of relate. Before Buffer, I worked a hybrid schedule with two days at home and three in the office. Being in person definitely allowed me to develop deeper connections with my coworkers, and I am still close friends with them to this today. These types of interactions just can’t be replaced by Zoom calls. But while I do miss this in-person camaraderie, I’ve also been able to make great friends at Buffer, too. In fact, I recently went to my first Buffer meetup and spent five days working and hanging out with my marketing colleagues.

Our marketing team just finished up their meetup in Vancouver! 🇨🇦

Fun fact: 60% of the team just joined us in 2022. We grew from a team of 4 to 11 this year! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/eqxQ24pUpb

— Buffer (@buffer) November 13, …read more

Source:: Buffer Blog

      

Author: Aaron