The many health benefits of not going into the office

Among the lifestyle changes that arrived during the pandemic was an alteration in our level of physical activity. For many, it meant a more sedentary lifestyle. That makes sense, because if all the gyms are suddenly closed and you get out of the habit of going, that can be hard to reverse.

Another subset of people did the opposite. Suddenly freed from the burdens of commuting, they used their extra time to take up an exercise regimen, or maybe go about it more regularly. The possibilities that open up when you’re not spending an hour or two in traffic every day can be liberating.

It didn’t always last. Once return-to-office protocols went into effect, that extra time for exercising disappeared, and any health benefits that might have been paradoxically gained with the onset of a pandemic were just as quickly lost. It’s hard to get your steps in sitting on I-95.

But the office return plan hasn’t always gone smoothly. Despite the worst COVID-19 fears fading, a stubbornly large contingent of workers continues to resist changing the habits they’ve acquired in the preceding three years. They want to work from home, at least part of the time, and don’t see why they should have to give that up. With the job market continuing to favor workers (for now, at least), they have some leverage. If their current job forces them back in, many people can find an employer that won’t.

All the usual caveats apply. Most anyone working in, to name a few industries, retail, construction, manufacturing or anything that requires face-to-face interactions doesn’t have this option and never has. Even with the rise of telehealth, doctors can’t perform an appendectomy over Zoom.

But many workers are affected, and office space is one of the last of the pandemicchanged sectors that hasn’t returned to something approaching a pre-COVID normal. The highways are just as jammed as ever and people are happy to crowd into close quarters at sporting events. But they resist going back to the office.

As a result, the past few years have seen an increasingly desperate series of attempts to get those workers to change their minds. Bosses talk about all the perks their employees are missing out on, as if new beanbag chairs are worth sacrificing hours a week behind the wheel. Companies have tried incentives, mandates and everything in between to lure people back, but the resistance has been stiff.

There are real benefits to working in person. It’s hard to develop friendships over a video conference, and given how much trouble adults have developing new relationships under the best of circumstances, this represents a legitimate loss for people’s social lives. Some experts have pointed to a loss of mentorship opportunities, and the ability to have simple in-person interactions can have a positive effect on mental health.

All those benefits, however, may be overblown. If there were business consequences to the work-from-home shift, it would show up in productivity reports. By all accounts, it hasn’t. The economy is humming right along, with thousands of unfilled jobs in Connecticut a testament to the continuing desire to add workers among area businesses.

The social aspect is real, but points to a different problem. People need options in their lives besides work and home to interact with others, and the fact that so many of our out-of-family relationships are based on our place of employment illuminates the limitations we place on ourselves. If anything, if we want better social lives, we should look for ways to get together without work as a backdrop.

The best way to make that happen is to eschew the commute. Otherwise, too much of the day is taken up either working or getting there and back.

Then there’s the health aspect. One recent study, which looked to all accounts like a barely disguised attempt at scaring people into giving up their work-fromhome arrangements, said not going into the office could lead people to a more sedentary lifestyle, raising the specter of blood clots, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Unmentioned were the health benefits of sitting in your car and breathing in exhaust for hours at a time.

The issue is not that workers don’t realize there’s a tradeoff to working from home. They understand what they’re giving up, and that’s why many, even given the option to work from home, have decided they’d rather be in the office, at least some of the time.

The work is getting done. The economic numbers are fine. The future of office space is questionable, but is not the responsibility of individual workers. If we break down barriers to conversions, we could use some of that empty space for what we do need, like housing.

The tide could turn quickly. If a recession hits and job losses mount, most people can forget about making demands on their employers. They want to lock in changes now.

What employees truly want is the ability to make decision on where and when they get their work done for themselves. Autonomy on the job is something nearly everyone craves but is too rarely able to achieve. Workers won’t give it up easily, nor should they.

There are real benefits to working in person. It’s hard to develop friendships over a video conference, and given how much trouble adults have developing new relationships under the best of circumstances, this represents a legitimate loss for people’s social lives.