Engaged at Work, But at What Cost to Overall Well-being?

Thirty-one percent of remote workers are enthusiastic about work, yet 64% feel their well-being suffering, according to a recent Gallup survey. Why this contradiction?

The Gallup poll highlights this “remote work paradox” and the complex interplay between our professional and personal lives. JLL’s Future of Work research further illuminates these dynamics. The physical workspace in a post-pandemic world has changed – and continues to change.

Adding another layer to this complexity is the rapid advancement of AI. Consider this stat: 54% of remote workers are more likely to believe they job will be disrupted by AI.

Let us examine this and look at what’s working and what’s not.

The Upside: Why Remote Work Boosts Engagement

The heightened work engagement among remote employees isn’t surprising. Consider some of the inherent benefits of working from home.

• Autonomy and Flexibility: Remote work often grants employees significant control over their schedules and work environments. This autonomy can foster a sense of empowerment, allowing individuals to work when and how they are most productive, leading to a deeper connection with their tasks. The ability to tailor their workspace can also enhance comfort and concentration.
• Reduced Commute Stress: Eliminating the daily commute saves valuable time and money and removes a common source of stress, enabling employees to channel more energy into their work.
• Fewer Distractions: For many, a home office provides a quieter, more focused environment than a bustling open-plan office, leading to increased concentration and productivity.
• Democratization of opportunities: For organizations, they can access talent outside of a small radius of their offices. This has meant the democratization of opportunities for remote workers.

The Downside: The Toll on Overall Life Thriving

Despite the professional advantages, the Gallup poll suggests that the fully remote experience can negatively impact broader aspects of life, and JLL’s research supports the idea that while remote work offers benefits for focused tasks, the lack of in-person interaction can be detrimental.

Furthermore, emerging anxieties related to technological advancements like AI can exacerbate these challenges for remote workers.

• Social Isolation and Loneliness: The most significant factor is often the lack of regular, spontaneous social interactions with colleagues. JLL’s findings consistently point to the office as a crucial hub for fostering social connections, mentorship, and a strong corporate culture – elements that are harder to replicate remotely and are vital for overall well-being.
• Blurred Work-Life Boundaries and Increased Pressure: Without the physical separation of a workplace, it can be challenging for remote employees to mentally “switch off” from their jobs. This can lead to longer working hours and an “always-on” mentality.
• The constant wave of ever-evolving AI: The rise of AI and discussions about its potential to automate tasks intensify pressure. Remote employees, particularly in tech-heavy or easily digitized roles, might feel a heightened need to constantly demonstrate their value potentially leading to overwork, stress, and burnout.
• Increased Negative Emotions: Fully remote employees report higher levels of stress, anger, and sadness. The combination of isolation, the pressure to be constantly available, the potential for techno-complexity, and underlying anxieties about job security in an AI-influenced future can be emotionally and mentally taxing.
• “Just Work” Mentality: For some, remote work can strip away the social and communal aspects of a job, reducing it to a purely transactional experience. JLL notes that the office environment can provide a “third space” that contributes to identity and purpose beyond just task completion.

Understanding the Contradiction: Engagement vs. Thriving in an Evolving Landscape

The core of this paradox lies in the distinction between work engagement and overall life thriving.

• Work engagement focuses on an employee’s enthusiasm for their specific job tasks and their connection to their team and organization. Factors like autonomy and deep focus, often enhanced by remote work, directly boost this. It’s conceivable that some remote employees, feeling the pressure to showcase their contributions in light of AI advancements, might channel this into intense work focus, thus appearing highly engaged.
• Overall life thriving is a more holistic measure, encompassing social connections, mental and emotional health, and a sustainable work-life balance. It’s in these areas that fully remote work, compounded by new technological pressures, can present significant challenges.

Essentially, while remote workers might find their actual job duties more engaging due to increased control and fewer interruptions (and perhaps a subconscious drive to prove their worth), the surrounding conditions – social isolation, eroded work-life separation, and the background hum of anxiety related to AI and job futures – can diminish their broader sense of well-being.

Is Hybrid the Sweet Spot? JLL’s Perspective on Evolving Workplaces

Interestingly, the same Gallup report indicates that hybrid workers, along with on-site remote-capable workers, report higher levels of overall life thriving (42%) compared to fully remote workers (36%).

This aligns strongly with JLL’s research, which consistently shows a strong preference from both employees and employers for hybrid models.

Results from Fortune 500 companies show that employees desire flexibility but also value the office for specific activities: collaboration, innovation, team building, and accessing specialized resources. The most successful organizations are those that reimagine the office as a “destination” – a human-centric space designed to support these activities and enhance employee experience.

Moving Forward: Supporting the Whole Employee in a Changing World

As remote and hybrid work solidify their place, organizations must look beyond surface engagement metrics. Savvy companies are finding the right balance through innovative, tangible strategies:

• Office Design as Well-being Hubs and Collaboration Catalysts: Create physical spaces that actively combat remote work’s isolation and blur. Implement tech-free “deep work” zones alongside vibrant social hubs. Make the office a compelling destination with unique collaborative tech, specialized project rooms, and high-value in-person mentorship.
• Tech Investment as Strategic AI Augmentation and Digital Well-being: Invest in AI tools to reduce digital fatigue and cognitive load (e.g., smart summaries, task automation). Deploy AI co-pilots to augment human skills like research and analysis, freeing people for strategic work. Promote asynchronous communication by default to lessen “always-on” pressure.
• Work-Life Balance and Safety as Enforced Disconnection and AI Transparency: Move from merely encouraging boundaries to implementing policies with impact, like right-to-disconnect protocols or meeting-free days. Foster psychological safety through radical transparency about AI strategies and their supportive role for employees.
• Community and Learning as Deliberate Connection and Career Future-Proofing: Engineer meaningful, non-transactional connections across remote/office divides via structured mentorship or innovation sprints. Reframe upskilling to develop “AI-proof” competencies (critical thinking, emotional intelligence) and provide clear career navigation pathways in an AI-evolving landscape.

By focusing on these areas, companies can better support the whole employee. Addressing the psychological effects of working alone, embracing flexibility, and proactively navigating the implications of AI will be key to ensuring that employees can be both engaged in their work and thriving in their lives.