Rohit Krishnan pushes back on recent claims that remote work is broadly damaging mental health, instead tying the effect to people who lack outside social circles and insisting offices cannot serve as replacements for real personal connections.
The more I read arguments against remote work the less I find them credible. This starts with "remote work hurts mental health" then goes to say it's about those without friends/family with whom they interact. Work isn't meant to be adult daycare, just let people choose.
Published an op ed in @nytimes: remote work hurts mental health.
Let me explain why 🧵⤵️
Krishnan stresses that professional settings were never designed to fill personal voids, so blaming remote setups for isolation overlooks how existing networks determine outcomes.
The argument lands on individual choice rather than blanket rules, leaving room for varied life circumstances that data snapshots may not fully capture.
Many users support the critique of the NYT op-ed by noting remote work's benefits for family time and mental health, while others sarcastically reject the idea that office interactions improve well-being.
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My dad spent 40 years of his life at the same job. He had lifelong friends there, a big part of his identity. At that point, sure, there needs to be substantial in person time.
If you're hopping jobs every couple years though, might as well save the commute?
The more I read arguments against remote work the less I find them credible. This starts with "remote work hurts mental health" then goes to say it's about those without friends/family with whom they interact. Work isn't meant to be adult daycare, just let people choose.
The more I read arguments against remote work the less I find them credible. This starts with "remote work hurts mental health" then goes to say it's about those without friends/family with whom they interact. Work isn't meant to be adult daycare, just let people choose.
Published an op ed in @nytimes: remote work hurts mental health.
Let me explain why 🧵⤵️
@krishnanrohit we must protect people by sending them to an office with only loosely related psychopaths
@krishnanrohit People frequently choose wrong, though. Perhaps that denies some agency, but for many, being forced to socialize might be a benefit even if they don't realize it. I'm aware this is fairly paternalistic, though.
@BenOgorek @krishnanrohit Does this assume A) you spend time with coworkers outside of work, and B) that you don’t get any company sponsored opportunities to break bread? In many industries, remote employees still get some of this without having to go to an office everyday.
@BenOgorek This seems incorrect, especially since people move around jobs too.
@BenOgorek @krishnanrohit Friends from school, uni, sports clubs, neighborhood associations etc. Maybe it's more of an US thing where people out in a lot of hours in work and move to other states to find a job. It can be quite detrimental to social ties.
@krishnanrohit It's fairly difficult to find sustained camaraderie outside of work, so if you're not getting it at work, you probably live a life without any real camaraderie.
And I think that's the problem with remote work.
@krishnanrohit Where do you find your camaraderie in life, Rohit?
@BenOgorek Life is filled with options for camaraderie! x dot com isn't shabby either.
@dav64635 @krishnanrohit "If you don't agree with me, then you're a loser" is a dirty, scumbag tactic.
@AdamPippert @krishnanrohit Let me just tell you Adam, back in 2010, I'd meet a coworker out at a bar just to talk about work. We were that excited about what we were doing.
I both feel pathetic and nostalgic typing that. But we gave a damn.
The company sponsored opportunities were always shit, even then.
@krishnanrohit The like is for how much I liked agreeing to disagree 😂
@krishnanrohit authors are economists and allegedly funded by an institute with ties to real estate
@dav64635 @krishnanrohit See this is why we can't have a productive debate
@krishnanrohit Lol also so many of us did a significant chunk of our PhDs remote and it was amazing and have made us appreciate remote work even more. Individual productivity has nothing to do with sitting in a desk in an office
The more I read arguments against remote work the less I find them credible. This starts with "remote work hurts mental health" then goes to say it's about those without friends/family with whom they interact. Work isn't meant to be adult daycare, just let people choose.
@krishnanrohit I can accept that vision of work might be beneficial for people overall, but I just hate it myself. I do not like being forced to do social activities with my co-workers. I think it is nice to be able to chat with people, but I also like using chat to do that in my remote job
@krishnanrohit Definitely let people choose - but as someone who’s been wfh before it was cool I definitely think it’s beneficial to have an actual workplace - and this need is magnified when you have kids / family. Some separation helps if you actually want to get stuff done.
@Ben18262517 I doubt it but I'm okay if that's the conclusion. Even okay if you can prove that the negatives are high enough that it is worth being paternalistic. The article however is bad.
@p_millerd we will call this phenomenon "socialisation"