Newly published: Five years after the pandemic – are we better off being able to work from home?
The pandemic fundamentally changed working life and made remote working a natural part of many white-collar professions. But how did it actually affect our mental well-being?
Photo: Lisa/Pexels
A new study from Stockholm University has examined the link between different remote working options and mental health (anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and stress) during the pandemic in Sweden, as well as whether there are any gender differences. The researchers also looked at so-called technostress – for example, technology making you available even outside of working hours – as a cause of anxiety.
In the study recently published in the journal Acta Psychologica, researchers found that the opportunity to work remotely was associated with fewer mental health problems – especially when unused. At the same time, there appeared to be a stronger link between technical stress and anxiety for remote workers.
Since Sweden had a more liberal approach during the pandemic, with schools remaining open, for example, the researchers believe that the results are also relevant in today's working life, where remote working has become part of the "new normal."
THE STUDY IN SHORT
Method:
The study used data from 3,660 participants in 2020 and 2022 from the the Swedish Longitudinal Survey of Health (SLOSH). The study is based on a theoretical model of job demands and resources that takes into account not only specific job aspects, but also organizational, family-related, and personal aspects that can play a role in mental health. The method (Bayesian analysis) makes it possible to weigh several different variables in relation to different health outcomes simultaneously.
Results:
The results showed that the ability to work remotely is associated with better mental well-being – especially for those who did not actually work from home. However, no strong correlation was found between the amount of remote work and mental health.
The study also showed that technostress – such as the experience of high digital demands and constant connectivity – increased the risk of mental health problems. The correlation was particularly strong for those who worked remotely, especially in terms of anxiety, compared to those who worked on site.
Women generally reported poorer mental health than men. However, the differences did not seem to be due to remote work or childcare responsibilities, but rather to other underlying factors.
Those who can work remotely but still choose to be at the workplace are therefore the ones who seem to feel best. Overall, the results point to the importance of offering flexible working conditions, the need for strategies to manage digital demands in a sustainable way, and further investigation into the reasons behind gender differences in mental health, according to the researchers behind the study.
We had expected hybrid workers, who combine both remote and on-site work, to show the fewest mental health problems, but this was not the case.
Andreas Sarling, doctoral student and lead author of the study, comments on the results:
– There were some aspects of our findings that surprised us. Previous studies have indicated that women have poorer mental health than men because remote working has led to an increased burden in the home environment in the form of childcare and more ‘multitasking’, but our findings showed that neither remote working nor children at home seemed to explain this difference in mental health.
– Another interesting aspect of our findings was that, of all the groups with the option of remote working, the group that remained entirely at the workplace showed the least mental health problems overall, while workers without the option of remote working showed the most problems. We had expected hybrid workers, who combine both remote and on-site work, to show the fewest mental health problems, but this was not the case.
Andreas Sarling. Photo: Daniel Eriksson/Ålandstidningen
What happens next?
– In future studies, we will continue to explore what distinguishes remote and on-site workers when it comes to well-being. Among other things, we will explore the importance of various resources such as interaction with managers, personal attitudes, and the role of Generative AI as social support when work is performed in environments where human support is not as readily available.
Last updated: 2026-02-20
Source: Department of Psychology