The HN title is editorialized and misleading. The study found an association, but no causation.
> We conclude that hybrid work arrangements were associated with positive self-rated mental health
For example, one explanation for the lower self rated mental health of fully remote workers could be because they already have poorer mental health and stay out of the office because that would be even worse.
The HN title should be reverted to the originally published title.
And even if hybrid is “better”, this study can only say that it’s better on average. Since no individual human is average, it will always be worse for some subset of the population. The whole problem is that CEOs are trying to cram every human into the same Procrustean box.
> We conclude that hybrid work arrangements were associated with positive self-rated mental health
For example, one explanation for the lower self rated mental health of fully remote workers could be because they already have poorer mental health and stay out of the office because that would be even worse.
The HN title should be reverted to the originally published title.
And even if hybrid is “better”, this study can only say that it’s better on average. Since no individual human is average, it will always be worse for some subset of the population. The whole problem is that CEOs are trying to cram every human into the same Procrustean box.