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