While working from home has been an option for some people in some jobs over the years, the COVID pandemic in 2020 made it a reality for millions of employees across many industries.
Today, about 35% of U.S. workers are still working in a remote job, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
Another trend that's become popular recently is using TikTok — and it’s believed that over 150 million people in the U.S. are active on the social media app.
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Now some people are putting the two trends together and creating a virtual "co-working space" on TikTok. Remote workers are live-streaming themselves during their actual workday — on the computer, typically — as a way to connect with others who are also employed from home.
FOX Business spoke with Miranda Flick, known online as @goldenmirmy. She works from home as a social media manager and livestreams daily from her desk set-up.
She said she decided to go live on TikTok, and another platform, Twitch, to help others who are looking to connect while working alone.
"It’s just nice to have a virtual co-working buddy without being in the office," Flick said.
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The 28-year-old from Central Florida said she’s been working from home for eight years and goes live Monday through Friday from around 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
She continued, "We’ll do the ‘pomodoro method,’ which is working for 30–35 minutes [of] focused time [with] no distractions, and then take a break for 5–6 minutes and talk with each other."
Flick said this helps her stay focused and productive throughout the day.
As for what her boss thinks of her pastime of going live on TikTok during office hours, Flick said her boss actually livestreams herself on TikTok during work hours, too.
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She added, "My boss doesn’t see any harm in it."
Dr. Karen Fortuna, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, said TikTok has a unique position in this situation.
"TikTok has the potential to enhance the remote work experience by tapping into the psychological aspect of accountability," she said.
She added, "The platform's livestreaming feature, where users may feel they are being observed, whether in the video or the group chat feature, can foster a sense of responsibility toward tasks."
Fortuna said this process is considered a way for people to support and learn from others.
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"Personal inquiries from colleagues encourage accountability to people rather than AI-automated inquiries, fostering real-time goal-setting, task alignment and team cohesion," she said.
Another TikTok user who frequently goes live to share her working space with others is Holly Ho, a 30-year-old small business owner from Seattle, Washington.
Ho said she’s been working from home since 2019.
She goes live every weekday for about two or three hours — working for 20 minutes and taking five-minute breaks in between.
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"Working from home can be really lonely, so being able to hang out and feel like you're working with other people keeps you motivated and inspired to work," she said.
Ho added that she feels more productive when she’s livestreaming while others are watching.
Dr. Marlow Taylor, a psychiatry fellow at the LSU Department of Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital New Orleans in Louisiana, suggested that this type of co-working set-up is functioning as a modern-day coffee shop.
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"If older generations sought out coffee shops as a ‘third space’ outside of home and workplace settings for motivation or collaborative efforts, younger generations who are working remotely likely crave a similar outlet," he said.
He added, "Users of the virtual co-working space may benefit from collaboration with diverse individuals, creation of a community based on shared interests and motivations, and the spreading of new ideas from related industries within the virtual co-working platform."
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In terms of how this can help the younger generation through isolating "doom and gloom," Taylor said, "Given the negative mental health consequences of social media use for young people, the live co-working space may be one way the internet can help those working remotely thrive."
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