Why Hybrid Workers Often Feel More Isolated Than Fully Remote Ones
Hybrid work is often presented as the best of both worlds: a few days in the office for connection, a few days at home for focus.
In practice, many Hybrid professionals report something unexpected: they feel more isolated than when they were fully Remote.
The Promise vs the Reality of Hybrid Work
On paper, hybrid work offers:
Flexibility
Social connection
Autonomy
Balance
In reality, it often delivers:
Fragmented teams
Inconsistent presence
Uneven access to information
Shallow connection
Instead of feeling anchored in either work environment, Hybrid workers can feel caught in between.
You’re Never Fully “In” the Group
Workplaces which are fully Remote usually have the question of how to stay connected at the forefront of their minds. This might take the form of having regular check-ins, end of week round ups or more virtual social get togethers.
Hybrid teams, on the other hand, often assume social connection will “just happen” in the office.
For hybrid workers, this creates a problem:
You miss conversations when you’re remote
You miss continuity when you’re in the office
You are rarely present at the same time as the same people
As a result, you never feel fully embedded anywhere.
Office Days Can Be Surprisingly Lonely
Many Hybrid workers expect office days to restore connection. Instead, they often find:
Empty desks
Different teams in on different days
Colleagues on video calls from nearby rooms
You make the effort to commute, only to work alone in a different location.
This can feel more isolating than being remote, because the expectation of connection is not being met.
Hybrid Work Increases Social Comparison
Hybrid workers are constantly aware of which people are in the office the most, thereby being more visible to leadership and more included in spontaneous discussions with important people. For hybrid workers, this can trigger social comparison and self-doubt, more than they would experience if they worked fully remote.
Belonging Requires Consistency
Feelings of belonging come from repeated, predictable interaction. Hybrid work often removes that consistency because of different people being in the office on different days.
Why Fully Remote Can Feel Easier
Fully remote workers often accept distance as the default and so fit in intentional connection into their daily routines. They also have lower expectations of experiencing social interactions at work. Hybrid workers, on the other hand, may have expectations of social connection which are repeatedly unmet.
What Actually Helps
For hybrid workers, isolation reduces when there is:
Clear office days for the whole team where everyone is encouraged to come in and work together
Intentional relationship-building, not ad-hoc interaction
Equal visibility regardless of whether they are working from home or from the office
Hybrid Work Needs Support, Not Assumptions
Hybrid work, though often sold as offering the “best of both worlds” is not automatically better than remote or office-based work. If you feel alone and disconnected working hybridly, you need structured support to rebuild a sense of belonging, confidence, and clarity.
