Zoom therapy
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We’re now depending on Zoom for everything—work, social hours, family check-ins. And while some of us might welcome a respite from commutes and lengthy workplace meetings, there are significant drawbacks to virtual reliance.
As Stanford University economics professor Nick Bloom explains on Freakonomics Radio, studies have shown that working from home can increase productivity by 13%. However, in one specific study in which workers were randomly chosen to work from home for nine months, half of participants admitted they were kinda miserable. They reported feeling lonely, isolated, and depressed—and volunteered to return to the office. If not full time, then at least partially.
Basically, they needed some social interaction.
“The type of working from home we’re talking about now [with COVID-19] is very extreme,” explained Bloom. “It’s full-time, five days a week. I should note that less than five percent of Americans currently do that. Lots of people work from home a day a week, but very…
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