SCRANTON — Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic sent many employees to a home computer, recent data shows a higher prevalence of anger, stress, sadness and loneliness among many fully remote workers than hybrid and on-site staff.
The 2025 Gallup State of the Global Workforce report found 45% of full-time remote workers experienced significant daily stress — outpacing on-site, remote-capable workers (39%) and on-site, non-remote-capable staff (38%), and on par with hybrid workers (46%).
The report also revealed 30% of exclusively remote workers experienced feelings of daily sadness as opposed to 23% of on-site, remote-capable employees, 22% of on-site, non-remote-capable workers and 21% of hybrid employees.
One-quarter of fully remote workers reported experiencing anger compared to 21% of on-site, remote-capable and on-site, non-remote-capable employees, and 17% of hybrid staff, according to the Gallup poll.
Additionally, 27% of full-time remote workers experienced daily loneliness while 23% of hybrid, 21% of on-site, remote-capable employees and 20% of on-site, non-remote-capable workers shared those feelings, per the workforce report.
Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute, a regional data analytics and research organization, noted hybrid-work jobs are particularly in demand as some companies continue with fully remote operations and others are demanding employees return to the office every day.
“I’ve noticed in talking with a lot of people about their jobs, and their efforts, that hybrid seems to be the preferred choice,” she said. “They like the option of being able to work at home several days a week and then going into the office to be part of the group a couple days. I think the desire to have that hybrid environment is people demonstrating they need more interaction, collaborative opportunities and communication or a change of scenery to get that boost.”
Ooms also believes that while many people embraced working from home from the start, some of the novelty has worn off.
“I think everybody always wished for it and during COVID there weren’t (other) options for multiple people but to work from home,” she said. “Now that they have the choice and flexibility, they’re thinking a little more balance might be appropriate.”
Jeff Goronkin, founder and CEO of Urban Co-Works — a business offering private offices and coworking space for entrepreneurs and other professionals — opened a facility on North Washington Avenue in Scranton in November 2023 to give employees working in a remote or hybrid environment a professional, well-equipped place to thrive. Recently, Goronkin noticed more clients looking to use space.
“We have a lot of momentum,” he said. “We have new people coming in every month. It really hit us at the beginning of this year when we saw a big uptick in interest. People just didn’t know this was an option. Now, they seek us out.”
Goronkin noted many clients work from home and just need to get away from the house and have a nice, quiet place to work while others need an office space in the city for logistical reasons.
“People are talking about remote work all the time and how to split up your day and balance your life a little bit,” he said. “There are some people who like working from home. I could never do it. I need to separate my personal life from my professional life and I think a lot of people feel that way. Even if it’s for three days a week, you can come in, hunker down and focus.”
Urban Co-Works Founder and CEO Jeff Goronkin stands in a conference room in Urban Co-Works in Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2205. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A section of Urban Co-Works in Scranton. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
An office is set up by Corning Optical Communications in the Urban Co-Works space in downtown Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A view of some of the workspace available in Urban Co-Works. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A section of the Urban Co-Works remote work space in downtown Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A row of booths available to clients of Urban Co-Works in downtown Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A conference room is available for use in Urban Co-Works in Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2205. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
An empty work space in Urban Co-Works in Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2205. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Urban Co-Works Founder and CEO Jeff Goronkin discusses the benefits of using the workspace in Urban Co-Works in Scranton Thursday, May 22, 2205. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Teri Ooms at her home in Dupont on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Callahan (Courtesy Dr. Vince Callahan)
Urban Co-Works houses a variety of different companies, from firms focused on marketing to radiology to health and human services, Goronkin added.
The facility offers a variety of options, including coworking and private office day passes, coworking memberships, full-time offices and access to conference rooms.
“A lot of people have part-time memberships — they might come in five or 10 days a month,” Goronkin said. “Two people came in last week who work for two different companies because they just wanted to get together and work for the day, and now they’re going to be getting a couple memberships.”
Goronkin also believes the opportunity for socialization — as minimal as it may be — leads many people to join Urban Co-Works. The coworking space also features sound-proof booths to allow for personal calls
“They’re cooped up at home and they want to see other people,” he said. “Even if you’re not really speaking with somebody, you’re seeing other people and everyone is working and tackling their best workday. It’s just good for your mind. We’re 100% focused on helping people have the most productive day they can.”
Due to the demand in the Scranton location — about 50% occupancy since its opening — Goronkin is eyeing another location in the state, possibly Wilkes-Barre.
“It’s far enough away geographically that most people from beyond Wilkes-Barre aren’t going to come here,” he said. “And there are a bunch of businesses and people working from home there. It’s the same kind of situation, so that would be our number-one choice.”
Janette Altenhain, program manager for family engagement at Outreach Center for Community Resources, started working in the facility after the nonprofit expanded programs and needed more space.
The Moosic resident enjoys working inside the facility rather than a home environment.
“It’s nice to be able to be in-person and be together with our team,” Altenhain said. “There are different networking spaces but also little, quiet areas and desks with a nice view. We really like the kitchen area, too, to be able to take a break and have lunch together.”
Nicole Piccoletti of Pittston Twp., a family engagement caseworker for Outreach, also appreciates the multitude of workspaces.
“You don’t have to sit in your office all day,” she said. “You can step out and choose different scenery, and sometimes just being in this environment enhances productivity.”
Vince Callahan, Ed.D., founder and CEO of the Florida Institute for Neural Discovery, who boasts 39 years of experience as a professional counselor primarily focusing on the neurological impact of emotional trauma and its effect on academic performance, maintains the isolation associated with remote work can potentially lead to decreased production among employees.
“It’s kind of a Catch-22,” he said. “They’re excited to work from home — and be remote — and still get paid, but they’re missing the connections, which causes a lack of performance in the workplace. They don’t have those connections with other people like they do around the water cooler and it begins to impact their mental health because there is a lack of attachment. It’s just like children who are on screens have three main issues: their problem-solving skills are less, their social skills are less and their cognitive development is less than it should be. You see the same kind of dynamics going on in the adult world equal to job performance.”
While Callahan echoed Ooms’ sentiment about workers initially fully embracing the prospect of working from home, he stressed many likely didn’t consider the whole picture, similar to the mindset of students learning remotely.
“Unfortunately, when COVID happened, I think we collectively lost our minds, so to speak, because everybody quit thinking,” he said. “It was that initial (thought) of ‘I get to work from home, this is kind of cool,’ and the students, at first, were excited about being able to do schoolwork from home. And then it was ]oh, I don’t get to see my friends … I’m all alone.’ That’s what’s happening in the workforce for those still not going into the (office). It’s kind of an autopilot thing where they get involved in work and they’re really not putting their minds into it … it’s almost like a robot.”
While Callahan understands both remote working and homeschooling can be beneficial to some people, he maintains the majority need more structure to be productive.
“If you’re the type of child that can stay focused and be independent as a learner, homeschooling works really well,” he said. “And remote work works for the person who is a self-starter and can pace themselves, do the work, and get it done, but most of us aren’t self-starters. Most of us need supervision and accountability.”
On that note, the Gallup State of the Workforce report discovered the global percentage of engaged employees fell from 23% to 21% in 2024, costing the world economy $438 billion in lost productivity.
Furthermore, engagement has only fallen twice in the past 12 years — 2020 and 2024 — and last year’s two-point drop equaled the decline during the year of COVID-19 lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, according to the report. Callahan feels more companies may start putting a bigger emphasis on mental health awareness should they notice a decrease in overall output.
“I think employers are realizing if they have unhappy employees, their production goes down and there could be something (off) mental health-wise,” he said. “There could be more depression or anxiety that wasn’t (previously) there. I think they’re going to start looking a little bit more about how (remote work) is impacting their employees as many studies show happy, mentally healthy people are more productive at work.”
Callahan emphasized the importance of remote workers introducing some sort of social engagement into their daily routine.
“You need to have some kind of mental health break where you’re connecting with somebody or a group to get some kind of sense of community,” he said. “It’s really important because aloneness doesn’t just mean you’re by yourself, it’s also a state of mind.”
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