Working from home allows people to eat more healthily, feel less stressed and have lower blood pressure, according to a recent study.
The study, led by researchers at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and King’s College London, considered 1,930 academic papers on home working, teleworking and other types of hybrid work, reported The Guardian.
The team found that working from home allows people to eat more healthily, feel less stressed and have lower blood pressure, as well as making them less likely to take time off sick, tend to work longer hours and to work evenings and weekends.
“The effects of working from home on health were clearer in this study. The transition to home working during Covid was linked with an increase in intake of vegetables, fruit, dairy, snacks, and self-made meals; younger workers and females benefited the most in terms of healthier eating,” the researchers wrote in their paper, which was published in the Journal of Occupational Health.
Most of the reviewed papers also showed that people working from home felt more stable, calmer, and more productive and creative.
Yet, remote workers are also more likely to eat snacks, drink more, smoke more and put on weight, the study found.
Prof. Neil Greenberg, a psychiatrist at King’s College London and one of the study’s authors, said the study showed that workers and employers needed to start considering home working with the same seriousness as they did office working.
Refusing the working from home options will mean that talented employees may find other jobs, and makes companies less flexible in the event of future crises, such as another health emergency or strikes or severe weather conditions that prevent people from reaching their offices, he added.
