A study has investigated how working from home affects employees. The researchers found that people working from home are better off because they have more time for other things in their daily lives as they do not have to commute.
What kind of study is this? A research team from the University of South Australia has studied for 5 years (since 2020) how the Corona pandemic (Covid-19) affects employed individuals. They also gathered some conclusions about the impacts of working from home.
The researchers agree: This flexibility significantly improves the well-being and satisfaction of employees and changes our relationship with work.
Those who spend less time commuting can make better use of their time in everyday life
The conclusions of this large-scale study show that despite sometimes contradictory data, which is due to the complexity of the topic, the option to work from home has significant benefits for the physical and mental health of employees.
What has changed? Before the pandemic, the average Australian spent about 4.5 hours per week commuting to work. The researchers point out that this commuting time is often associated with poorer mental health and a worse perception of one’s health. According to the study, reducing or eliminating these daily commutes, which cause stress and fatigue, has direct impacts on health.
What do people do with their free time? The additional free hours that are no longer used for commuting are utilized differently depending on the employee: some of it is used for work, while another part is dedicated to family obligations such as child-rearing or caregiving duties.
The researchers also point out that “when you spend more time on leisure activities while working from home, there are more opportunities to engage in physical activity and less sitting.”
And another positive change can be observed: People who work from home eat healthier. The proximity to the home kitchen leads to a higher consumption of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, and the number of home-cooked meals also increases.
Millennials have long called for more working from home and can feel confirmed
What does this have to do with millennials? The magazine Venn has explored how different groups of people prefer to work. The team found that millennials prefer to work from home and do not like being in the office: 84% prefer to work from home rather than in the office.
The study from Australia more or less confirms the wishes and demands of millennials: they cite environmental concerns and desires for better technology, flexibility, and improved and healthier meal options as arguments for working from home. And according to the study, individuals have benefited from exactly this. In contrast, Generation Z has exactly the opposite view: Generation Z celebrates exactly what many millennials dislike: working in the office
