Remote workers more likely to get laid off than replaced by AI — and also face more mental distress, data shows

Oh, brilliant. Turns out remote workers aren't just getting laid off—they're getting laid off *more* than people replaced by AI. A poll says they're 'far more likely' to be shown the door than to be swapped for a chatbot. So all that talk about flexibility and work-life balance? Just a nice appetiser before the pink slip. Meanwhile, a *Science* study drops the cheery news that remote workers account for a third of the mental health decline since 2011—because nothing says 'wellbeing' like staring at Slack from your kitchen table while your Zoom background mocks you.

Solo remote employees are taking the hardest hit, apparently. The isolation that was sold as 'freedom' turns out to be a one-way ticket to distress, with the added bonus of being first in line for layoffs. Because why fire the person in the office when you can quietly cull the one who's been a disembodied voice for three years? It's efficiency! Or cost-cutting dressed up as flexibility. Hard to tell these days.

The real punchline? The AI that's supposedly coming for jobs isn't the main threat—it's the bosses who realised they don't have to pay for your commute coffee anymore. So remote workers get the double whammy: psychological isolation *and* job insecurity. But hey, at least you can wear pyjamas to your exit interview. Silver linings.