Working from Home Can Lead to Isolation

For most of us, the idea of working from home conjures up images of relaxation accompanied with a smug sense of control. You can set your own hours and work the way you want, even if that means you do your best work in torn jeans and bunny slippers with Oprah on the television in the background. More and more offices are making that dream come true for their employees. The decreased overhead cost of maintaining adequate cube space in a commercial office setting is especially appealing and advances in technology have made it easier for more people to work from home. Some argue that comfortable settings are more conducive to productivity levels.

Employers who transition office employees to at-home workers could make a world of difference if they discussed the pros and cons of working at home before such a solution is implemented. Too often, workers get blindsided with the cons because the pros are paraded around and the cons do not even enter the equation. After all, what downsides can there be to working from home?

For most office workers who have made the conversion to working from home, it is a dream come true at first. After the initial thrill wears off, however, the at-home worker may experience feelings of isolation. The quietness of an empty house pales in comparison to their previous environment of low-key chatter around the water cooler. And while the interruptions by coworkers during the day used to be viewed as annoyances, now they are missed. The hours go by more slowly with no distractions to break up the time. Suddenly the supposed dream-come-true turns into an unexpected nightmare.

Isolation is very different than loneliness. Isolation feels bleak and never-ending. It wanes temporarily while you're on the phone or responding to an email, but the feeling of being utterly alone and cut off from the world quickly returns after the phone call is over and the email is sent. You have a feeling that the world is going by and it doesn't care whether you are there or not and your world seems to shrink. Without any distractions, when nobody calls you for hours or days and all you have left to do is obsessively check your email over and over, it is easy to begin thinking that you don't really matter, and these thoughts inadvertently push you further down the path of isolation. Feelings of isolation can lead to depression, which can cause a person to further avoid social activities, and a person can get trapped in a vicious self-feeding cycle of isolation and depression.

Without being given a specific task or reason to leave the house, the at-home worker becomes susceptible to isolation. Warning signs of isolation start subtly. At first a person may prefer to send emails over picking up the phone and calling a coworker. Then a person may not feel comfortable going out to check the mail. A fear of driving may crop up. A person may insist that their significant other do the driving during routine tasks such as grocery shopping. Going for days without getting dressed, showering or shaving are sure signs that something is wrong. If left untreated, isolation can escalate into social phobias, social anxiety and full-blown Agoraphobia where a person cannot even leave their house. It sounds impossible, but it can happen to even the most sociable of people. In fact, the more sociable a person is, the more prone they are to suffering from isolation.

If you or someone you know is exhibiting symptoms of isolation or depression after making the transition to working from home, you must take steps to immediately rectify the situation so it does not get worse. Make a concentrated effort to phone coworkers and resist the urge to correspond only via email. Make plans to meet a friend for drinks or lunch at least once a week. Ask if you can work in the office a couple of days a week. Discuss your feelings with your boss to see if there is anything that can be done to make the transition easier. If all of these things do not ease your feelings of isolation or if you are constantly battling feelings of isolation and depression in spite of concentrated efforts to thwart them, then consider getting a job where you work outside the home. Working from home isn't going to work for everyone and knowing your limitations will ensure your chances of success and happiness in the workplace, whether that is at home or in an office.