Working from home linked to rising mental health problems – especially for those living alone, study finds

Never returned to the office after Covid? It may be causing hidden harm to your health.

A new study suggests that the shift from office work to working from home is linked to increased levels of psychological distress; Those who live alone are most affected by this situation.

Researchers found that workers in jobs that became more remote after the pandemic experienced an increase in mental health problems compared to those who continued to work in the workplace.

Study published in the journal ScienceIt analyzed data from 588,322 people in five major US surveys conducted between 2011 and 2024 – excluding Covid peak years to avoid skewed results.

Experts compared health care use, including mental health treatment and antidepressant prescriptions, between workers in remote-friendly roles and workers whose jobs require in-person attendance.

They found that people are generally more expressive when their work involves social interaction; This is something that is often missing from home-based roles.

In the years following the pandemic, workers in remote jobs saw a small but notable increase in psychological distress.

And the effect was much worse for those living alone, who experienced nearly twice as much distress compared to people living with others.

Importantly, there was no corresponding increase in non-mental health care use; This suggests that the trend isn’t just because people are seeking more medical help in general.

The researchers estimated that the increase in remote work accounted for approximately one-third of the overall increase in psychological distress over the study period.

“Telecommuting can therefore be considered an important, if not the only, contribution,” the authors said.

They warned that while working from home could eliminate commuting and offer flexibility, it could also eliminate daily social interactions that help support emotional well-being.

‘Small daily interactions with co-workers and even brief moments like greeting a barista can play an important role in maintaining mental health,’ they added.

Those living alone may be particularly vulnerable, as remote working increases feelings of isolation and reduces opportunities for social contact.

But the researchers noted some limitations, including that the data focused only on U.S. workers and failed to fully distinguish between fully remote and hybrid work models.

The new study comes as record numbers of people in the UK are experiencing mental health problems.

NHS figures show 2.24 million people are currently in contact with mental health services; This is the highest level in history.

Data released in March also revealed there were 850,000 more people receiving treatment or waiting to start care compared to January 2020.

Responding to the rise, Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, warned: ‘This is a humanitarian and economic disaster costing the UK at least £118bn a year.

‘Without an effective and coordinated “invest to save” approach, the mental health crisis will worsen.’

A previous study conducted in Norway found that people who work from home for more than 15 hours a week are more likely to drink alcohol than office workers.

Meanwhile, a 2021 survey by US recovery firm Sierra Tucson found that one in five employees admitted to using alcohol or drugs while working from home.