Home (not so) sweet home: Remote work and medical leaves in Brazil

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented shift to remote work worldwide. In this paper, we investigate the dual impact of this transition on physical injuries and mental health issues by analyzing more than 1.5 million medical leaves in Brazil from 2018 to 2021. Using a differences-in-differences model, we compared workers from firms who transitioned to remote work (non-essential services) and those who stayed commuting to their workplace (essential services) before and after the pandemic. Our findings reveal a significant decrease in labor accidents, primarily driven by fewer bodily injuries, but a substantial increase in medical leave related to mental health issues. The abrupt transition to remote work, combined with increased domestic responsibilities in a setting of social distancing norms, likely contributed to elevated stress levels and work-life conflicts. Our findings highlight the contrasting health impacts of remote work adoption in the context of an abrupt transition, with persistent mental health consequences that extend well beyond the initial pandemic shock.