Millions Of Americans Work From Home — A New Study Shows What It's Doing To Their Mental Health

Remote work has reshaped how millions of Americans structure their days, but a sweeping new study in Science1 is putting hard numbers on a cost that many people feel but struggle to name.

Researchers surveyed 588,322 American workers from 2011 to 2024 and found that remote work substantially increases time spent alone, worsens mental wellbeing across multiple measures, and drives up the use of mental health services and prescription medications.

The study compared workers in jobs that can be done from home (think software engineering or marketing) to workers in jobs that require physical presence, like nursing or food preparation.

By looking at occupation-wide shifts in remote work rather than individual choices, the researchers avoided a tricky problem: people who are already struggling mentally may be more likely to choose remote work in the first place.

The analysis drew on five nationally representative surveys spanning 2011 to 2024, deliberately excluding the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 to capture long-term effects rather than acute pandemic stress.

Workers in remote-capable jobs spent roughly one additional hour alone per workday after the pandemic compared to those in jobs requiring on-site presence. When people worked from home, 84% spent their entire workday working alone, compared to just 23% of those who went in-person.

Remote work also led to a rise in days with zero human contact: no quick chat with a barista, no hello from a coworker, no passing smile at the grocery store.

And people didn't make up for it after hours. Remote workers also saw a decline in weekday socializing with friends compared to their on-site counterparts.

Mental distress rose in step with isolation. Scores on the K-6 distress scale increased for those in remote-capable jobs relative to those in jobs requiring on-site presence, a finding replicated across two separate national surveys.

Every single one of the six emotional markers tracked by the K-6 worsened, like feeling worthless, hopeless, restless, nervous, like everything is an effort, and so sad that nothing could cheer them up.

Those in remote-capable jobs also became more likely to see a mental health professional, and saw increases in depression and anxiety prescriptions, as well as overall mental health medications.

Two checks ruled out the possibility that remote workers were simply using schedule flexibility to seek more care. Remote workers did not increase routine physical exams or non-mental health prescriptions like cholesterol medications.

The effects weren't evenly distributed. For people living alone, the picture is significantly more acute.

Those living alone in remote-capable jobs were ten times more likely to spend the entire day without any social contact compared to those who lived with a partner or children, and thirteen times more likely to go a full day without any human contact whatsoever.

On the mental health side, distress scores for remote workers living alone rose to a level roughly equivalent to going from feeling nervous some of the time to nervous most of the time.

Their use of depression and anxiety prescriptions increased by more than twice the rate seen across all remote workers.

A companion piece published in the same issue of Science reframes the return-to-office debate in a way that cuts through the usual productivity arguments.

The office, the authors argue, functions as social infrastructure2, a built-in source of incidental human contact that workers didn't have to plan or seek out. When that infrastructure disappears, so does a layer of connection that quietly sustained wellbeing.

A 2022 survey cited in the study found that adults are most likely to form friendships at work, more so than at places of worship, in their neighborhoods, clubs, or through their children's schools.

The researchers are careful to note that their findings don't mean everyone should return to the office. But they do suggest that remote workers, especially those living alone, need to be intentional about building social connection into their days.