A new study has found that people who work from home and live alone may be at risk of experiencing loneliness and severe stress.
The study, published in the journal Science, analyzed national survey data collected over more than 10 years.
Researchers found that people who live alone and are in jobs that can be done remotely, such as sales, spend about 25 percent of their days without social interaction. This is more than twice as much compared to people in jobs that require being at the workplace.
Similarly, the study showed that the increase in mental stress problems since the COVID-19 pandemic is twice as high among people who live alone and are in jobs that can be done remotely.
However, researchers emphasized that the study did not prove that working from home is what causes mental health problems.
Experts say that being in an office does not necessarily mean a person will have good social interaction. They recommended providing mentorship programs, social groups, and other ways to help employees have good interaction with other people.
They also said that even small interactions, such as greeting someone or a brief chat with someone, can help reduce loneliness and increase a person's feeling of being part of a community.