[tchalla]

> Our results suggest that remote work substantially increases isolation and worsens mental health, particularly for those living alone.

Another angle - people don't know how to deal with isolation if not their work. Remote work has accelerated an aspect that we already knew existed. Social systems are tied ONLY around work which is not healthy.

[nottorp]

> Social systems are tied ONLY around work which is not healthy.

That is the real problem. I've been working from home for most of my career, but I also have friends (some i made while working, some from other common interests) and we meet at least every weekend.

[chrisbrandow]

Working alone at home is far more novel and unusual than any arrangement of work and socialization that has existed in the last 500 years

[watwut]

Nuclear familly with one breadwinner was and is exactly that. Staying at home with a kid is more isolating then work from home (you dont have meetings).

[verve_rat]

Retired people have had to deal with this. I assume it is less of a problem in multi-generational homes.

[tchalla]

"Third places" have existed for 1000s of years. We have actively weakened them by replacing them with modern work in the last 30 years or so. Remote work exposes it even further. In office work, papers over the cracks. It doesn't solve the issue.

[Morromist]

Yeah, although I suspect the study isn't taking account major economic factors involving ai and remote work jobs - the fact is society is built around jobs you commute to and it takes a little bit of time for society to change.

People have understood suburbs are designed for commuters since they first started popping up, this isn't like some bizarre thing that needs careful understanding. It would be like if people stopped using boats, everyone in Venice would be like "people who once used boats are now having trouble getting around town and the streets are too crowded. How curious."

[gbraad]

In most cultures "what do you do" is the first question that people ask, but answered with their job position in most Western countries.

In most other places, people will respond with their current activity, or their hobby or even religion or believe.

A lot of our culture revolves around work giving us meaning and satisfaction. And this is very obvious now due to recent layoffs and how people are affected in feeling/prospect because of this.

[prmoustache]

> but answered with their job position in most Western countries.

I think that is mostly a US thing.

Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WabD6tGz-Dc

[joe_mamba]

>In most cultures "what do you do" is the first question that people will answer with their job position in most Western countries.

No, it's the opposite, in most places in the world, average people typically respond with their profession just as they always had in every coultre on the planet, from India to Bulgaria to North America from 2000 BC to 2026 AD. Are you a blacksmith, are you a priest, are you a teacher, are you a construction worker etc. In Europe many people's family names are literally the profession of their ancestors.

>In most other places, people will respond with their current activity, or their hobby or even religion or believe.

Again, the opposite, People identifying with their "current hobby" are typically snobby western white collar hippies, who now think their identity transcended beyond their profession due to the privileges of the wealth of their profession, and the social pressures of their politically correct society that views certain professions that generate wealth (like tech bros) with a certain stigma that might be a negative to society, so they they shy away from it and choose another identity not related to their profession.

[gbraad]

I am in Asia, and do not experience that 'snobby western white collar' attitude here.

It is seen as a polite form like "how's the weather", and answer like "just going to grab a snack", inviting others to join. Have worked with many people from different backgrounds due to an international/localization team and open source activities in Asia.

And the name argument in a lot of places was a forced naming. In the Netherlands they were sometimes based on profession, but also their location, or their parents/relationship. The names where a Napoleonic side effect; in 1811 he mandated that everyone in the Netherlands must adopt a surname. Before that, it was very unusual. Note: look for 'van' and what follows, as often it is not a profession.

[joe_mamba]

>I am in Asia, and do not experience that 'snobby western white collar' attitude here.

Probably because Asia isn't much like "the west".

>Have worked with many people from different backgrounds due to an international/localization team and open source activities in Asia.

Well-off tech workers who travel to (or host) open source conferences around the world, are a selection bias of a niche within a niche, not representative of the customs and attitudes of the general population within their respective countries, same how football fans(hooligans) who travel abroad at games, also don't represent the average people of their respective countries.

[gbraad]

> isn't much like "the west"

as I said: a very Western way of answering, but you brought India into the mix too.

> Open Source Local people, not the expats or visitors. I have been a regional manager. Dealt with people from China, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, India, etc. Locals. You assume and limit a lot when I point out "different backgrounds".

Every day when I pick up my son, there is a middle eastern man (nationality not important) who asks the same question; and answers himself too as "waiting for my daughter". Westerners assume this means to ask about job. It isn't everywhere.

Common sense (and assumption) isn't as common, as the environment you grow up in influences this.

[prmoustache]

> Probably because Asia isn't much like "the west".

OTOH the earth is not flat.

[biql]

The difference is in office work it happens by inertia whereas socializing outside requires practicing agency.

[prmoustache]

This. I have seen people afraid of retiring because they didn't knew what to do next nor did they have hobbies and social life.

I have so many ideas I feel my problem would be to forget about somes.

[fnordpiglet]

The people paid to be there aren’t your friends. They’re nominally “coworkers,” which is not a social relationship but a transactional one. The fact we’ve as a society replaced human social interaction with people acting a work persona for money is more sad than being lonely - this should be the state that is considered lonely.

Being isolated in the way discussed is in my mind a process of reclamation to normal social relationships. At first it’s disorienting and hard. Over time; you adjust.

[tpmoney]

> The people paid to be there aren’t your friends. They’re nominally “coworkers,” which is not a social relationship but a transactional one.

You're getting paid to be friends with your co-workers? Or are you being paid to work, and work, like many other situations where multiple people gather and share experiences and spend time together are also places that people tend to form friendships in. You had friends in school that you stopped maintaining the friendship when you stopped attending school together I'm sure. Were those people not actually your friends? How long does a "social interaction" have to last, and over what distances before it becomes a "friendship" instead of a "transactional relationship"? If it ever ends was it never a real friendship? It's certainly possible to view every relationship you build with people that you share circumstances with as transactional relationships, but that to me seems like a good way to never actually build a friendship with anyone.

[fra]

My experience could not be more different. I’ve made life long friends at work, especially when I was working for smaller firms. I don’t think those relationships are transactional.

[wqaatwt]

> replaced human social interaction

That was always the case historically. Outside of family people mainly interacted and formed social the mainly with the people they worked with. There is nothing modern about that if anything we have more opportunities to met new people outside of your close these days.

One thing is less stability, people tend to form less life long bonds when they change jobs ever few years instead of working with the same people for 20-30 years

> people paid to be there aren’t your friends

Well children are forced to attend school, does that make you can’t make any friends there? Its not that different..