The post-COVID expansion of remote work has substantially increased the social isolation of workers and worsened their mental health, especially among individuals who live alone, according to a study published in Science.Why It’s Relevant
As of 2025, nearly 40% of full-time employees had an all-remote or hybrid work schedule. Studies exploring remote work have so far found generally positive outcomes—workers report being more satisfied with the flexibility and autonomy that remote work offers, and overall productivity hasn’t dropped.
However, the mental health consequences of this major societal shift haven’t been as widely assessed. To remedy this, researchers combined data from five national surveys that assessed individuals’ socializing and well-being. The surveys spanned 2011 through 2024 and encompassed more than 580,000 respondents.
By the Numbers
- Before the pandemic, workers across professions were primarily onsite. By 2024, individuals with “remotable” jobs (e.g., software engineers or marketing professionals) spent 31% of their workdays fully remote, while those in nonremotable jobs (e.g., nurses or construction workers) were fully remote 9% of the time.
- On an average post-pandemic workday, 84% of people working remotely spend their entire day working alone, compared with 23% of onsite workers. Further, on a given workday, about 7% of remote workers have zero human contact.
- Post-pandemic, people with remotable jobs were more likely to report feeling sad or depressed at work, see a mental health professional, or receive a psychiatric prescription than those with nonremotable jobs. People with remotable jobs were not more likely to schedule physical exams or use non-psychiatric medications.
What’s More
The isolating effects of remote work were about 10 times as great among individuals living alone compared with those living with others.
The Other Side
The analysis couldn’t differentiate the mental health effects of fully remote versus hybrid work. Further, the data end in 2024, and it’s possible that as remote workers adjust to the new normal, long-term mental health trends will improve.
Takeaway Message
“Although a large body of research finds that workers want to work remotely, our findings suggest that workers may not realize the costs of remote work for their well-being, which may take time to accumulate,” the researchers wrote. “Understanding remote work’s impact on mental health is important for workers deciding where to work and for firms and governments setting remote-work policies.”
Related Information
Source
Natalia Emanuel, et al. Home alone: remote work, isolation, and mental health. Science. Published June 4, 2026. doi:10.1126/science.aec7671
(Image: Getty Images/iStock/seb_ra)
