One was actually last year, as I recall. But I still remember: it was about a year ago. Today I received another news that one of the colleagues passed away. Note I have worked remotely since pandemic in 2020, and I only saw the second colleague in person a few times. I may have seen the 1st colleague once in office, during one of the few times I visited office – it was probably the Indian holiday of Diwali. I went to the memorial (or visitation, it was a traditional Indian ceremony at a funeral home).
As I wrote this, now I recall another colleague passed away and I went to the memorial (or visitation) too: it was almost 2 years ago – I tried to pinpoint the exact time, but I do recall at that time I was driving for Uber, and I thought about driving for Uber after the memorial service. That was a hard one because I believe that young colleague likely has depression and although they didn’t explicitly say the cause of death, I can sense it was likely suicide.
PS: I just googled “remote work toll on mental health“.
AI Overview
Remote work can take a significant toll on mental health by substantially increasing isolation, loneliness, and psychological distress, especially for employees who live alone. [1, 2]
Key Mental Health Impacts
- Isolation and Loneliness: Remote workers spend about 1.1 additional waking hours alone per day compared to on-site workers. Those living alone face an 83% higher chance of experiencing zero human contact during the workday. [1, 2]
- Rise in Mental Distress: A major study published in Science links remote work to an increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression. It accounts for roughly one-third of the overall rise in national mental distress seen over recent years. [1, 2, 3]
- Increased Medical Care: Remote employees show higher rates of consulting mental health professionals and using prescription psychiatric medications like antidepressants. [1, 2]
- Blurred Boundaries and Burnout: Working from home makes it harder to “clock out” mentally. This leads to longer hours, chronic stress, and emotional exhaustion. [1, 2]