Remote work offers multiple benefits for employees’ well-being. Eliminating the need to commute frees up time, reduces expenses, and lowers stress: no more traffic, no more packed trains. It also allows people to choose where to live — often in more affordable areas or closer to family. Money saved on commuting, lunches, and work clothes can be redirected toward savings or leisure. For those with children, working from home can also make it easier to handle school runs. Even the smallest details, like having access to your own bathroom or kitchen, add to a sense of comfort throughout the workday.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, quite a few things, as it turns out.
While eliminating the commute is a clear benefit, it can also lead to long stretches without leaving the house. Especially now, when groceries and meals arrive at our doors, a remote worker may easily spend days without stepping outside. And without discipline, having our kitchen steps away from our workstation doesn’t guarantee healthy or mindful meals. On a busy day, it’s easy to resort to quick lunches eaten at the computer. Plus, the time saved from not commuting doesn’t necessarily translate to exercising regularly. Instead, it’s easy to fall into doomscrolling late into the night, only to wake up minutes before the first meeting of the day.
If not properly managed, remote work can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, and even depression.
The BBC highlighted a group particularly affected by the specificities of remote work: overthinkers. Without the physical and verbal cues of an office environment, they are often left in a state of ambiguity. Prone to rumination, they may overinterpret everything, including any terse emails or subtle shifts in tone or behavior. A missed meeting invitation, even if accidental, can quickly spiral into worst-case assumptions. For these workers, remote work can significantly heighten anxiety.
Overthinkers are not the only ones to struggle with the remote environment, though. Many people simply miss the social interaction, including the chance to make friends at work. Some even become self-conscious from constantly seeing themselves on camera.
One factor that can make things even worse is a lack of trust from management. In a remote environment, a manager who doesn’t fully trust their team typically becomes overly controlling — expecting immediate responses on chat or scheduling unnecessary back-to-back meetings. This type of manager can quickly lead to frustration and burnout.
What research says about the impact of remote work on mental health
Last year, Gallup reported that feelings of anger, sadness, and loneliness are more common among remote workers, who are overall more distressed than their hybrid and on-site counterparts. The institute lists three reasons for that: physical distance can remove all sense of camaraderie from work; the autonomy offered by remote work can also create stress (especially if the role requires coordination or if there are no clear boundaries); and the fact that collaboration through technology isn’t always smooth.
One robust study illustrates the pros and cons of remote work very well. Conducted by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom over two years (before the COVID pandemic), the research demonstrated that remote work can significantly boost productivity. He divided 500 employees from a Shanghai company into two groups: a control group that continued working at headquarters, and a group that started to work from home under optimal conditions.
The results showed that productivity among remote workers increased by 13% — nearly the equivalent of an extra full workday per week. Additionally, employee attrition among this group decreased by 50%, and they took fewer sick days. However, after the study concluded, more than half of the participants who had worked from home chose to return to working fully in-office. The reason? They were feeling isolated.
The vicious cycle
Amir Salihefendic, founder of Doist (maker of Todoist), shared his experience with isolation and depression as a remote CEO in an interesting article. First, he addresses the association between remote workers and a nomadic lifestyle, which he views as problematic. For him, living as a digital nomad means not being part of a community, and this takes its toll on mental health. “Remote workers shouldn’t feel like they have to travel to lead interesting, fulfilled lives. It’s ok to prioritize friendships, community, and your mental health over traveling. It may not look as glamorous on Instagram, but you may end up a lot happier for it.” However, working from home — the alternative to traveling the world as a remote worker — also comes with its own risks, he ponders. “When you work from home, it’s easy to fall into bad habits and spiral downward.”
He remembers that not establishing clear boundaries for his work led to the bad habit of not making an effort to go out and see friends. Before long, he found himself trapped in a vicious cycle:
“Over a period of months, the constant work and social isolation slowly got to me. I started having bad days — feeling down and anxious — more and more, until the bad days outnumbered the good ones. Some days I would go to bed at 3am, others I would sleep until 2pm. My productivity suffered, which only made me feel more anxious and depressed. My mood was completely unstable. I tried to create routines and boundaries between life and work at home — getting up at the same time, stopping work at a specific time, taking more breaks throughout the day — but none of my solutions lasted for very long.”
For Salihefendic, what got him out of that situation was renting an office space. Although he was still working by himself, having the physical separation between work and the rest of his life made a significant difference for him. “Getting out of my apartment made me more social again as I would do lunches, dinners, or sports with friends while I was already out. Slowly, the good days started coming back. I began showing up to work with energy again. Stressors became easier to handle.”
Developer Benjamin Pollack shared a similar experience, and also for him, renting an office was the solution that helped him recover from a breakdown. Both Pollack and Salihefendic emphasize that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, though. Renting an office is simply what worked for them, but each remote worker should find their own solution.
What can remote workers do to fight anxiety?
Below are 10 suggestions gathered from reputable sources on effective strategies for remote workers to combat feelings of isolation and anxiety.
1. Set up for success
Let’s be honest, rolling out of bed five minutes before your first meeting isn’t the greatest way to start the day. It can lead to a negative self-perception, which may contaminate your entire workday. In fact, one positive aspect of commuting was that it gave our brains occasion to prepare for the workday ahead.
Giving your brain time to wake up and your body proper fuel before opening your laptop can work wonders. You’ll start your workday feeling more grounded, focused, and already a bit accomplished.
2. Turn your “commute” into movement
Since we’re talking about starting the day right, one of the hidden perks of remote work is reclaiming your commute time, and if you use it for exercise, it can set a powerful tone for the day. By the time you sit down to work, you’ve already done something positive for yourself — which boosts your mood, sharpens your focus, and can create a virtuous cycle of productivity.
3. Set boundaries
When your home becomes your office, the line between work and personal life can easily blur. Without boundaries, work can quietly expand to fill your entire day. It’s crucial to define your working hours, communicate them to your team, and stick to them as much as possible.
Communication tools such as Teams, Slack, and others allow you to set your status. Use it intentionally to signal when you’re available, in deep work, or offline. If you’re stepping away for a longer lunch, you can write on your status when you’ll be back. These small signals help set expectations and reinforce your boundaries — without the need for constant explanations.
And instead of feeling guilty for protecting your time, consider this: it’s also in your company’s best interest. By taking care of your energy and downtime, you’ll show up more focused and productive during your working hours. Conversely, a burned-out employee becomes a problem for any employer.
For some, boundaries must also be set within the home itself, with roommates or family. This is especially true for those with young children, who may not fully understand why your presence doesn’t always mean availability. In these cases, it helps to have a dedicated workspace — whether it’s a separate room, a converted garage, or even a small office nearby.
4. Use the Pomodoro Technique to create working blocks
During work hours, it’s impossible to stay focused nonstop; studies have demonstrated that your brain requires micro-breaks. There are some methods to help you balance your focus time with breaks, one of which is the Pomodoro Technique, which we discuss in detail in this article.
Determine how many pomodoros (25-minute-long work sessions) constitute a productive day for you. Once you have this clear, you will be able to assess your work week much more effectively. Instead of simply judging your productivity based on your mood or unrealistic expectations, you will have a clear standard to measure against.
5. Make time for fresh air
Try to leave the house every day, even if it’s just for a quick walk. Think of it as a mental reset that helps you come back to your work refreshed and ready to focus.
6. Keep your workstation tidy
Productivity often comes from external sources rather than inner strength. Create a workspace that makes you feel comfortable and motivated — and keep it tidy.
7. Let the sunshine in
Natural light has a powerful impact on our energy, so try to make the most of it. Start your day by opening the curtains or stepping outside for a few minutes. These simple habits can help you feel more awake. If possible, set up your workspace near a window.
And yes, this still applies if you live somewhere with long, dark winters — in fact, it matters even more then. When daylight is limited, being intentional about exposure to natural light can make a noticeable difference in how you feel and perform throughout the day. Shoutout to Scandinavians!
8. Dress for work — if it works for you
The author of this article recalls a conversation with a friend who makes a point of fully dressing for work when working at home — right down to his shoes. For him, that small detail of putting on dress shoes is key: it signals the start of the workday and helps him shift into the right mindset. At the end of the workday, when he takes off his shoes, his mind understands it’s free time. Sometimes, it’s the small rituals that make the biggest difference.
Of course, if you’re just as productive in pajamas as you are in work clothes, feel free to ignore this tip. Instead, pay attention to other small rituals that might help your brain switch off the work mode. For example, some remote workers prefer to eat lunch in a different room from where they work. Or, if there’s a specific corner or desk that you associate with work, you can step away from that space as soon as the workday ends.
9. Allow yourself a change of scenery sometimes
As Barbra Streisand famously sang, we are all “People…/ People who need people…” So, consider working from a quiet café or coworking space from time to time, just to be around people. Even introverts can feel energized by the presence of others — especially in environments such as a café, where there’s no need to socialize.
If possible, just try to avoid having online meetings in a café, as the Wi-Fi may not always cooperate. Not to mention that you might end up disturbing those around you.
10. Think long-term
Finally, consider how you could make remote work more sustainable and productive over time. For example, you might plan to purchase a more comfortable chair in a couple of months or move your workspace to a room with better natural light before winter arrives. You can get creative here.
Wrapping up
Working from home isn’t inherently harmful, but without structure and intention, it can quietly take a toll on some people. By designing a routine that supports both your productivity and your mental health, you can mitigate most of the risks associated with isolation.
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