Mastodawn

Brian Jones Oct 21

Denis - The COVID info guy -

Scientists have been studying remote work for 4 years and have reached a very clear conclusion: “Working from home makes us thrive”

"The four-year lens shows a real shift: flexible schedules raise well-being, protect focus, and support steady results. People sleep longer, commute less, eat better, and give more time to family. Because managers reward outcomes, trust grows and meetings get sharper. That is how remote work changes daily life without lowering standards."

Source: https://archive.li/URhbv

Michael Gemar Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy @moira I love working from home.

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy Could someone please help me find the actual research paper?

I tried to track it down - some other news outlets said it was from the University of South Australia but I can't seem to find the source.

Any help would be great!

PS. It seems this is a made up article.

@rowlandm @DenisCOVIDinfoguy I think this is it https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/peps.12641

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Thank you! I'm going to hang onto this one.

I still want to find the other one, as this is an American study and the one the articles mentioned were from the University of South Australia.

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

OK - I found it.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248008

It was in this article but they didn't underline the link in the "The University of South Australia’s groundbreaking research" text

https://evidencenetwork.ca/remote-work-increases-happiness-4-year-study-findings/

Changes in diet, activity, weight, and wellbeing of parents during COVID-19 lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted lifestyle behaviour as public health initiatives aim to “flatten the curve”. This study examined changes in activity patterns (physical activity, sedentary time, sleep), recreational physical activities, diet, weight and wellbeing from before to during COVID-19 restrictions in Adelaide, Australia. This study used data from a prospective cohort of Australian adults (parents of primary school-aged children; n = 61, 66% female, aged 41±6 years). Participants wore a Fitbit Charge 3 activity monitor and weighed themselves daily using Wi-Fi scales. Activity and weight data were extracted for 14 days before (February 2020) and 14 days during (April 2020) COVID-19 restrictions. Participants reported their recreational physical activity, diet and wellbeing during these periods. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine change over time. Participants slept 27 minutes longer (95% CI 9–51), got up 38 minutes later (95% CI 25–50), and did 50 fewer minutes (95% CI -69–-29) of light physical activity during COVID-19 restrictions. Additionally, participants engaged in more cycling but less swimming, team sports and boating or sailing. Participants consumed a lower percentage of energy from protein (-0.8, 95% CI -1.5–-0.1) and a greater percentage of energy from alcohol (0.9, 95% CI 0.2–1.7). There were no changes in weight or wellbeing. Overall, the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on lifestyle were small; however, their impact on health and wellbeing may accumulate over time. Further research examining the effects of ongoing social distancing restrictions are needed as the pandemic continues.

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

I was getting suspicious of that last evidencenetwork.ca because I couldn't find the author anywhere on the web, but at least I found the article.

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

OK - scratch this. This is the wrong published paper and it was done in 2021.

This seems like a scam at this point.

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

This study examined changes in activity patterns (physical activity, sedentary time, sleep), recreational physical activities, diet, weight and wellbeing from before to during COVID-19 restrictions in Adelaide, Australia. Activity and weight data were extracted for 14 days before (February 2020) and 14 days during (April 2020) COVID-19 restrictions

@rowlandm @DenisCOVIDinfoguy what's really suspicious is I can't access the original article anymore, I'm getting pristine server content instead 🤔

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Yikes!

@n1k0 @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Such is the world we live in now.

Mark Levison Oct 21

@rowlandm @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

I’m with the others in responding, is there an actual academic article that backs this up?

@mlevison @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Doesn't seem like it - https://disabled.social/@rowlandm/115414283740497194

Rowland Mosbergen (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] OK - scratch this. This is the wrong published paper and it was done in 2021. This seems like a scam at this point.

disabled.social

Mark Levison Oct 22

@rowlandm agreed the source likely doesn’t back the claim.

Since
@DenisCOVIDinfoguy appears to be a solid science user perhaps he would consider rewriting the original post to make clear that there is no evidence to back the original article?

@mlevison @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Someone else wrote a poem....

Yaoi Box Balloon Oct 24

@rowlandm @DenisCOVIDinfoguy It's a very weird link to begin with! Already sus

KanaMauna Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Oh, this was obvious to any one who knew how to manage staff. Early in the pandemic productivity was through the roof. You didn't need to force people to work, they wanted to. I could email anyone at anytime and get a response within short time. Docusigns flowed in around the clock. No one was ever sick.

1/n

KanaMauna Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Then we had to start returning on a hybrid schedule and things really changed. A lot of staff had up to 2 hours commute each way and they sure as hell weren't going to keep working up to 5 pm. And they weren't going to open their laptops at home anymore. People used sick leave again. Staff who were senior started retiring (including me). I say 2025 productivity has at least 1/3 reduction over 2020. Such a waste.

2/2

Baron Von J Oct 21

@KanaMauna
> Staff who were senior started retiring

The owner class see that as a positive result of return to office policies. It's a free layoff with no chance for age discrimination lawsuits and no financial burden of severance packages.

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

KanaMauna Oct 21

@baronvonj @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Perhaps. I was a government worker so it won't work that way. Every worker has to have a Board-approved position code, most of which were budgeted. Leaving a code vacant might temporarily help with net cost but it won't help with budget savings. You would need to delete the code, which is done very publicly as part of an appropriation process. And most department would not willingly give up its senior codes so there would be messing swapping of junior codes.

KanaMauna Oct 21

@baronvonj @DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Also, severance packages are MUCH higher if they retire rather than are laid off so this is all counterproductive.

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy A billionaire with large holdings in commercial real estate disagrees and we know who wins that argument.

nikolar 🏕Oct 21

@timjclevenger @DenisCOVIDinfoguy haha, exactly:)

Green Roc Thoughts Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy Working from home also allows homebound disabled people the ability to work in general.

F. Douglas Wall Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy I'm willing to be an outlier and say that working from home did not work for me.

Ariaflame Oct 21

@fdouglaswall @DenisCOVIDinfoguy Different situations may have different outcomes. Some people thrive that way, others don't. Overall it would be best if everyone had the option to work the way that suited them best.

@fdouglaswall @DenisCOVIDinfoguy Same here, during covid I ended up working weekends because I lost track of the days. I really didn't like it and missed the office-space and the (real) contact with my colleagues.

I was one of the first that got back to the office because of it where others are more productive working from home.

Dutch research (Metselaar, Den Dulk, etc.) on flexible working conditions supports this difference. Workers need freedom to choose what works best for them.

Inc Hulk 🧪Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy This is true for businesses with good managers.
The ones with bad managers will be calling staff back to office working.

Jorijn Schrijvershof Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy I get to see my children grow up. I'm not taking any job that has more than two days at the office per week anymore. My priorities are clear now.

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy
My bunt boss will disagree strongly.

He wants my bum on the seat, every fucking day

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

Stoneface Vimes Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy but I still guarantee the usual suspects will be clamouring for remote working to be ended - management, those with office space portfolios...

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy
I wonder if they only studied people who want to work from home?

In my experience, working from home has been way more stressful. I got more done, yes, but only because I rarely took breaks because I had a voice reminding me that I'm not working every time I did. And while working that voice was also pushing me to get more done so that I had something to show that I was actually working.

It was so stressful that now, while unemployed, I skip job ads that day work from home.

(Another reason is that I live alone and don't have a social life outside of work, so if I were to work from home, I wouldn't see any other humans).

Jeff Grigg Oct 21

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

We have dogs at home.

There are no dogs at the office.

QED.

🐕

Cris 🇰🇵🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️🏴🗳️💉Oct 21

My company is against it because they don't want us to be productive they want us to be miserable

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy It’s a class struggle. Happy workers have energy left to question things.

Solarpunk Davy Oct 22

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy the whole article smells of AI slop, no link to the actual research. This is an important topic, let's do better!

Violet Madder Oct 22

@DenisCOVIDinfoguy

But, see, that's the problem.

They don't WANT us happier, healthier, more rested, or having more free time.

Somebody's been putting a lot of thought and effort into figuring out how to keep us as overworked and burnt out as possible, so we don't have the time to think or the energy to get uppity.