This Is the Biggest Problem With Working From Home, According to Remote Workers

published Oct 22, 2019
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Credit: Joe Lingeman/Apartment Therapy

A new study interviewed 200 full-time remote workers with set hours to get a better sense of the nature of the work and the impact it has. Out of many, one question caught our attention in particular: what’s the most painful part of working from home full-time? The answer: unplugging after work hours.

Conducted by Remote.co, this takeaway came from a hefty 40% of WFH respondents who expressed difficulty with walking away from work after the day is done. The ability to work from anywhere seems to imply that remote workers can always be working, but obviously no one should be doing this if leading a healthy and well-adjusted life is the goal (which should always be the case).

Some other interesting findings from the study include respondents admitting that they struggle to form strong bonds with their coworkers (25%), admit that loneliness affects them as a remote worker (23%), and express struggling with non-work distractions (32%).

Of course, full-time remote employees of companies face different challenges than those working remotely full-time as a freelancer. For instance, 13% of the respondents said that they plan on taking at least four weeks of vacation within the next year. While that percentage might be low, it’s one that’s normally reserved for remote workers who have benefits like, you know, paid time off. (As a remote worker who doesn’t have that, I’d love to see a modified study on full-time freelancers.)

Whatever the case, props to all of you remote workers out there making your home your office and your office your home. We salute you!