The remote worker paradox: Why remote workers are thriving yet still thinking of quitting

Chris Dyer transitioned his company to a completely online one in 2009, more than a decade before remote work became mainstream. 

Within weeks, he began receiving messages from his screening service business employees, thanking him for the change.

“Your ability to create highly engaged, really connected people who want to stay in your organization and do great work is so much greater,” said Dyer, a best-selling author and speaker about company culture and remote work.

Remote working offers increased flexibility, improved work-life balance, and access to a broader talent pool, while often reducing overhead costs for employers, said Dyer. 

But transitioning fully remote isn’t as simple as moving operations online and continuing with business as usual, he said. 

“That’s the thing about remote work, it’s harder to do well, but you get a much bigger reward,” he said.

Remote and hybrid non-profit staff report stronger wellbeing than those who work on-site, according to research from Future of Good.

But the findings, published in Thriving Yet Leaving: The Remote Work Paradox in Non-Profits, reveal a stark contradiction.

About 25 per cent of remote and hybrid workers say they are likely to consider quitting within six months, compared to 12 per cent of on-site staff.

According to Dyer, he believes that the number can be improved.

“What people say is, ‘I don’t feel like there’s as much culture in remote working’,” he said. 

“That’s because you, as a leader, haven’t learned new tools and new strategies to figure out how to engage with someone now that you don’t have them right in front of you all the time.”

Lonely and logging off

While remote workers aren’t necessarily more lonely than their in-person counterparts, the data shows that when they do experience loneliness, they’re about twice as likely to consider leaving their jobs.

The impact is more pronounced for younger staff, with one-in-three staff between 18 and 29 reporting they often or always feel lonely.

Dyer refers to this as the “loneliness component” of remote work. 

“A lot of people use work as a place for community and to have friends. And that’s okay,” he explains.

“But they’re essentially our friends and they’re essentially our community because of proximity.”

He emphasizes the importance of helping employees build social connections beyond work by encouraging hobbies, clubs, and relationships outside the office. 

Loneliness is the strongest single predictor of remote staff quitting, even more so than job satisfaction, according to the data.

“We do need people. It’s an important part of our mental health,” said Olga Morawczynski, co-founder and head of wellbeing for Heal-3. 

The company helps organizations identify problems impacting mental health and wellbeing and designs programs to address those issues. 

The challenge for employers

The findings reveal an important challenge for employers: While remote work offers valuable flexibility without increasing overall feelings of loneliness or disconnection, when those feelings do arise, they have a disproportionately strong impact on retention.

For sectors like non-profits, adapting strategies to support retention and connection is especially critical.

The data shows that 58 per cent of non-profit employees work remotely, including 65 per cent of those in community non-profit roles.

“One of the main reasons why people stay at work is because of the social connections that they have,” said Morawczynski. 

When employees feel lonely, their loyalty to the company can fade, making them more likely to quit, she explained.“If you’re home most of the time, you’re not building some of those relationships, you’re not really built into the culture of that organization. And it’s probably a little bit easier as a result for you to make the decision to leave.”

With such a large portion of the non-profit workforce operating remotely, creating a more connected and engaging online environment is no longer optional; it’s essential, said Morawczynski.

Intentional Strategies

Supervisor relationships are among the strongest predictors of wellbeing and retention, according to Steven Ayer, president of Common Good Strategies. 

“Staff who feel appreciated by their supervisors report higher job satisfaction, stronger belonging, and significantly lower burnout,” he said.

“These findings point to the importance of everyday human connection rather than incentives or pay alone.”

Nearly 40 per cent of people in their first six months of working at a non-profit report feeling lonely often or always.

“Taking time to build early connections through structured onboarding, mentoring, and regular check-ins helps people feel part of the mission and more likely to stay,”

According to Morawczynski, adopting new strategies is essential to staying productive, connected and balanced, according to Morawczynski.

“There has to be mechanisms or strategies that companies have taken to foster individuals to get together to form these relationships, even if they’re not happening around the water cooler.”

Employers should encourage their remote workers to go for walks during the day or step out for a coffee, she said. 

“Companies save all this money on overhead with office space and everything else, but they should put that towards activities where you physically come together and connect,” she said. 

The risks we see aren’t inevitable, said Ayer.

“Remote work can absolutely thrive in non-profits when organizations are intentional about connection, support, and purpose,” said Ayer.

Imagine Canada is an example of this intentional approach.

After shifting to a remote and hybrid model during the pandemic, the organization introduced several strategies to keep staff connected and supported. 

The non-profit created a Connection Fund, allocating money towards an annual staff retreat, giving coworkers a chance to build relationships in person.

It also budgets a fund for each region, encouraging remote staff to use the money to go for coffee or access a remote working space. 

In Calgary, the Corporate Challenge encourages coworkers to get together to make new connections and strengthen existing relationships.

Through in-person events and online games, the non-profit works to create a company culture and encourage inclusion.

“We hear a lot, ‘We have mostly remote employees, so we can’t participate.’ And now we’re starting to see a bit of a shift where some people recognize,  ‘Maybe because we have remote employees, we should try to engage with this’,” said Jacquie Li, executive director of Calgary Corporate Challenge.

The non-profit has been operating since 1996, and saw interest increase during the pandemic.

“We make sure people feel like they can be connected to their coworkers and also still have time to enjoy themselves even within the corporate environment.”

The movement is about more than just creating connections; it’s also about supporting workers’ mental health, Li added.

“We’re big on work-life balance and trying to help people understand that when you succeed in your life, you’ll also succeed in your work and vice versa.” 

To read the most recent Changemaker Wellbeing Index Report Thriving Yet Leaving: The Remote Work Paradox in Non-Profits, click here.

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error