Home workers more likely to smoke, snack and gain weight than colleagues in office

PEOPLE who work from home are more likely to smoke, snack and gain weight, a study has found.

Researchers from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and King’s College London reviewed 1,930 academic papers on experiences of home and hybrid working.

There were mixed findings on healthy habits and stress levels among homeworkers, but the papers revealed a link to higher rates of smoking and drinking.

Lockdown restrictions during the Covid pandemic forced many people into remote working, but data from last October shows full-time office workers outnumbering hybrid staff for the first time since the pandemic.

One study highlighted a rise in tobacco and alcohol use among people working from home, while other papers suggested they became more sedentary.

Another paper found that 46.9 per cent of people who moved to homeworking during the pandemic had gained weight. A further study put this figure at 41 per cent.

The study, published in the Journal of Occupational Health, found people working from home are more prone to snacking, although they are also more likely to eat healthier food such as fruit, vegetables and home-made meals.

Blood pressure was higher among office workers compared to their homeworking counterparts according to one review. However, other citations suggested women, people on low incomes, and those who live alone could be more likely to experience stress when working from home.

When examining working relationships, one study cited suggested those working from home were prone to fearing their office-based colleagues “would doubt their commitment and contribution in the workplace”.

Another reported that people working from home believed they would experience computer-related health issues within the next five years.

Prof Neil Greenberg, professor of defence mental health at King’s College London, told The Telegraph: “There definitely are physical aspects to working from home, but the key to all of this is that this is an umbrella review.

“The main thing to highlight is that homeworking is neither good or bad. Our world needs to adapt to the fact that more people are working from home.”

Prof Greenberg added that the option for homeworking could enable employers to be prepared for disruption such as rail strikes or employee sickness.

“A good, forward- thinking organisation sees it as an opportunity to be prepared,” he said.

“It allows organisations to be more adaptable. It provides an element of organisational resilience.”