As someone who has worked from home as a freelance writer for about 14 years, I’m here to tell you that working remotely can definitely compromise your mental and physical health, your social life, your home life, and even your career. Isolation from regular face-to-face human contact can start to feel normal, and when something feels normal, it becomes routine—and routines are hard to break.
The problem is that it’s not like you’re in solitary confinement. You’re still communicating with content managers, editors, and clients when you work remotely, so the feeling of loneliness isn’t always obvious, if you even notice it at all. It’s much like a teenager who has no friends at school but has 2,000 friends online through social media or multiplayer video games. In a sense, it’s still human interaction—but it’s not the same as genuine, face-to-face contact.
Not Good For Your Health
Regardless of whether you feel alone or connected while collaborating remotely with others on the same project, the lack of face-to-face interaction can still take a toll on your mental health.
Sometime after my first few years of working remotely, I stopped showing up at the pub to hang out with friends. I stopped going to family gatherings, forgot birthdays and holidays, and eventually stopped answering my phone.
You get so used to being alone that you simply want to stay alone.
Now, I’m not sure how it plays out for someone who works from home while raising a family, but I’ve spoken with several remote freelancers who have spouses and children, and many of them have described experiencing similar issues.
When you work a traditional 9-to-5 job, your significant other generally knows when to expect you home. As a freelancer, however, it’s easy to say, “I have a project with a tight deadline,” and disappear into your office without many questions. Try using that excuse every evening with a traditional job, and you might spend your free time convincing your significant other you’re not having an affair.
Substance Abuse
Since you’re not actually in solitary confinement—just isolated in your own environment—you still have easy access to things that can slowly destroy your life.
Alcohol is one of the biggest dangers. It’s legal, readily available, and it’s surprisingly easy to hide a drinking problem when your only interaction with coworkers happens through a computer screen.
The problem is that substance abuse pushes you even deeper into isolation. If you’re already pouring yourself a drink at 9:00 a.m., you’re probably not eager to socialize with friends or family. Staying home starts to feel like the easier option.
Once you find something that fills the void left by limited human interaction—even if it’s something as simple as overeating—it can become a comfortable part of your routine. Unfortunately, comfortable routines are often the hardest ones to break.
How Do You Make Changes?
I found that the best way to avoid the isolation that can lead to depression and destructive habits was to treat my social responsibilities the same way I treated my work responsibilities.
If I had to show up to a traditional job every day, I’d eventually have to interact with people I didn’t necessarily want to talk to, run errands, or deal with unexpected problems. I’d do those things because they were simply part of the job.
Why should maintaining relationships be any different?
When I Started Treating My Social Life As Part Of My Job
At the end of the workday, it was always easier to walk to the refrigerator, make a sandwich, and, within ten minutes, be relaxing on the couch watching TV.
No shaving. No shower. No looking for clothes. No worrying about the weather. Just another quiet night at home.
And if the mood struck me, my office was only about 15 feet away, so I could easily go back and do even more work.
Unfortunately, that mindset isn’t healthy for you or your business.
Spending time with friends and loved ones improves your mood. Knowing people care about you and enjoy your company gives you something work alone can’t provide. It also helps you maintain your social confidence. The longer you isolate yourself, the easier it becomes to forget how to interact comfortably with other people.
What happens when a wedding, funeral, or family reunion comes along, and you suddenly realize you’ve lost your ability to socialize naturally?
Standing against the wall by yourself feels awkward because something that once came naturally now feels unfamiliar.
Save Your Career And Your Social Life
Just like any job, hobby, or sport, you have to make a conscious effort to get something positive out of it.
If you work from home and spend your days communicating only with coworkers who may live hundreds or even thousands of miles away, most of your conversations will revolve around work—and they’ll happen through a computer screen.
That’s not enough.
Make an effort to seek out real human interaction. Take your kids to the park. Visit your parents. Meet a sibling for lunch. Call a friend and grab a cup of coffee. Join a local club. Do anything that gets you out of the house and reminds you that there’s a world beyond your home office.
Your freelance career can provide incredible freedom—but don’t let that freedom cost you your health, your relationships, or your happiness.