The vast majority of fully remote workers seem content with their arrangement, both professionally, and personally, although a recent survey of remote workers found an emerging concern among some.
Resume Builder surveyed 1,000 fully remote workers and a quarter of them report declining social skills.
“Social skills are skills. And, when you are not in a social situation for quite some time, and you are working remote alone, those skills kind of die on the vine. We are talking about things like chitchat, social interaction and just small talk,” Resume Builder chief career advisor Stacie Haller said.
In the survey, 20% said they feel more anxious in social situations now, another 20% said they feel more self-conscious, and 18% reported feeling more awkward in social settings.
Social skills require constant honing, and without personal interaction those skills can go soft. Fully remote workers aren’t always getting those interactions.
The majority of fully remote workers surveyed said they either rarely or never work outside of the home. One-in-five report they don’t leave their home more than once a week for non-work related purposes.
“Get out. Go meet someone for lunch during the day. Take time to go to the gym. Work on those skills connecting with other people. Working remote and not connecting with people does affect many folks to make them feel isolated,” Haller said.
Among fully remote workers surveyed, 3% said they rarely or never leave home for any activities.
Remote workers who are concerned about social skills are in the minority. Two-out-of-three fully remote workers surveyed said they feel their arrangement has had no impact on their social skills and two-out-of-three said they prefer to continue working fully remote.
Even so, 17% of fully remote workers said they feel disconnected from coworkers and 15% said they feel disconnected from their broader community. For those workers, hybrid schedules are sounding more appealing.
“They like a day or two in the office, because we are social beings and we like interacting with people, along with the fact that we get to learn other skills, and it has other values,” said Haller.
Full results from the Resume Builder survey are online.
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