COVID-19 lockdowns in the United Kingdom: Exploring the links between changes in time use, work patterns and energy-relevant activities

Máté János Lőrincz, Jose Luis Ramirez-Mendiola and Jacopo Torriti

Abstract

Restrictions on movement and the imposed social distancing and work-from-home rules due to the recent global pandemic have sparked an interest in understanding changes in the timing, duration and sequencing of daily activities. In this paper, we investigate how working from home during the various stages of COVID-19-induced lockdowns in the United Kingdom influenced the timing of in-home, energy-related activities.

We present findings from the analysis of data collected during the first and second UK lockdowns using an online diary instrument developed by the UK Centre for Time Use Research. Based on a weighted average index we show that there were noticeable changes in the start times of energy-relevant activities between the pre-and mid-lockdown periods. Both lockdowns showed a substantial variation in start times of laundering compared to the reference period. The food preparation activities start times varied more during the second lockdown depending on the time of the day. TV watching activities started later and lasted longer relative to the pre-pandemic reference period.

We conclude by discussing how we can account for the associations we have identified between changing energy-relevant activities over the different phases of the lockdown periods.

Banner photo credit: Alireza Attari on Unsplash