Fanny Blanc and Kathleen Scanlon (LSE) look at how young house-sharers in London coped with the first lockdown

Blanc, Fanny

Scanlon, Kathleen

English

LSE Research Online

Sharing	a	home	under	lockdown	in	LondonFanny	Blanc	and	Kathleen	Scanlon	(LSE)	look	at	how	young	house-sharers	in	London	coped	with	the	firstlockdown.Sharing	a	home	is	extremely	common	in	London,	especially	for	young	people,	and	is	often	the	only	option	becauseof	the	unaffordability	of	housing	in	the	capital.	In	normal	times,	most	working-age	Londoners	spend	their	days	awayfrom	their	homes,	but	lockdown	changed	that	overnight.	We	surveyed	302	young	London	adult	sharers	during	thefirst	lockdown	(March	–	June	2020)	to	find	out	how	it	affected	their	lives.In	one	sense,	the	move	to	widespread	working	from	home	at	the	beginning	of	the	pandemic	merely	represented	anexpansion	of	the	existing	practice	of	teleworking—	albeit	an	abrupt	one.	However,	teleworking	had	hitherto	been(mostly)	a	choice;	the	pandemic	turned	it	into	a	requirement.	Pre-COVID,	teleworkers	could	generally	selectdwellings	that	would	accommodate	this	work	practice,	with	features	that	might	include	spare	rooms	or	studies.	Incouples	or	multi-adult	households	it	was	likely	that	only	one	person	worked	from	home,	reducing	the	likelihood	ofconflict	over	space,	noise	or	organisation	of	working	time.	But	under	COVID	it	suddenly	became	common	for	alladults	in	a	household	to	work	from	home,	creating	new	challenges	for	sharers.In	shared	households	the	allocation	to	residents	of	tasks	and	responsibilities,	as	of	privileges	and	spaces,	is	amatter	for	negotiation.	Intriguingly,	though,	research	suggests	that	this	negotiation	is	often	silent	and	tacit	ratherthan	explicit	—	in	part	because	residents	are	wary	of	raising	topics	that	will	lead	to	resentment	or	bad	feelings	in	thehousehold.	Under	COVID,	the	practicalities	of	coordinating	multiple	residents	working	simultaneously	from	homemay	have	challenged	these	tacit	cooperation	models,	especially	as	there	is	generally	no	authority	structure	orhierarchy	in	shared	households	(at	least	formally)	and	residents	are	not	necessarily	bound	by	any	ties	other	thanthat	of	sharing	a	physical	space.Our	survey	respondents,	like	other	Londoners,	were	mainly	confined	to	their	homes	and	their	immediateneighbourhoods	and	could	only	socialise	with	other	members	of	their	household	(although	this	rule	was	unevenlyobserved).	Office-based	workers	were	mainly	working	from	home;	many	others	were	furloughed	but	effectively	alsoconfined	to	their	residences.	Fear	of	virus	transmission,	and	official	advice,	made	people	much	more	concernedabout	cleanliness	in	the	home.The	pandemic	required	residents	to	adapt	normally	domestic	spaces	to	accommodate	work.	This	was	made	difficultby	the	fact	that	respondents’	private	spaces	were	typically	restricted	(the	average	reported	bedroom	size	was10m²).	About	a	quarter	of	the	cohort	lived	in	homes	where	the	former	living	rooms	were	used	as	bedrooms	foraffordability	reasons,	meaning	the	only	shared	spaces	were	kitchens	and	bathrooms.	Amongst	physical	difficultiesexperienced	by	those	working	from	home,	‘shortage	of	suitable	work	surfaces	(tables,	desks)’	and	‘not	enoughspace	in	the	home’	were	seen	to	be	problematic	by	47	percent	and	45	percent	of	respondents	respectively.LSE Covid 19 Blog: Sharing a home under lockdown in London Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-03-25Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2022/03/25/sharing-a-home-under-lockdown-in-london/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/Photo:	Nenad	Stojkonic	via	a	CC	BY	2.0	licenceMost	respondents	engaged	in	working	from	home	(WFH)	said	they	were	working	from	their	bedrooms	(53	percent)or	their	living	rooms	(29	percent).	Several	said	they	worked	sitting	cross-legged	on	their	beds	using	a	laptop,suggesting	that	their	bedrooms	did	not	have	desks	—	perhaps	because	they	were	not	large	enough	toaccommodate	one.	Not	having	a	dedicated	room	for	work	meant	there	was	no	physical	separation	betweenrespondents’	work	and	personal	lives.Although	three-quarters	of	respondents	had	shared	living	rooms,	not	all	used	this	space	for	work.	This	might	bebecause	others	in	the	household	were	using	the	space,	or	the	living	area	was	too	noisy.	Some	respondentscommented	that	it	was	especially	difficult	to	work	in	open-plan	arrangements	with	no	division	between	the	livingroom	and	kitchen.	Thus	even	in	houses	that	did	have	shared	lounges,	48	percent	were	working	in	their	bedrooms.They	were	spending	most	of	their	waking	hours,	and	all	of	their	sleeping	hours,	in	the	same,	often	small,	room.Several	respondents	said	this	had	engendered	mental	and	physical	health	problems.Having	to	work	in	your	bedroom	is	hard.	It’s	a	space	that	you	associate	with	rest	and	relaxing,	but	whenit	becomes	the	space	where	you’re	meant	to	be	focused	and	creative	and	efficient,	and	also	hostmeetings,	and	also	exercise,	and	also	relax,	it	becomes	extremely	difficult	to	do	any	of	these	activitieswell.	Work	lacks	productivity	and	bleeds	into	relaxation	time.	Without	a	suitable	desk	space,	working,resting,	and	sleeping	are	all	done	from	bed,	which	leads	to	body	aches.In	sharer	households,	the	adjustment	to	COVID	conditions	and	widespread	working	from	home	not	only	requiredrepurposing	physical	space	but	also	reframing	relationships	with	other	household	members.	This	could	beparticularly	challenging	for	sharers	who	might	have	had	relatively	little	interaction	before	lockdown	began,	butafterwards	had	to	coordinate	schedules,	negotiate	the	use	of	space	and	maintain	domestic	harmony.	Rather	thancohabiting	just	during	the	evenings	and	at	night	they	were	now	spending	all	their	time	together:	not	only	flatmatesbut	office	colleagues	and	life	companions.In	households	with	two	or	more	sharers	working	from	home,	respondents	were	rarely	alone	within	their	homes.	Norcould	they	necessarily	find	privacy	elsewhere:	in	these	early	days	of	lockdown	there	were	limited	opportunities	toescape.	Pubs,	restaurants	and	cinemas	were	closed,	as	were	all	but	essential	shops,	and	outdoor	exercise	waslimited	to	a	maximum	of	an	hour	a	day.	This	enforced	togetherness	affected	relationships	within	shared	householdsand	challenged	some	respondents’	mental	health.Coupled	with	being	forced	into	an	enclosed	space	in	a	stressful	pandemic	has	been	a	recipe	for	disaster.Privacy	and	alone	time	is	missed!On	the	other	hand,	for	some,	one	benefit	of	lockdown	was	to	deepen	relationships	with	flatmates.	Many	sharerhouseholds	had	started	out	as	complete	strangers;	lockdown	was	an	opportunity	to	get	to	know	each	other	for	thefirst	time,	and	some	formed	unexpectedly	strong	relationships.LSE Covid 19 Blog: Sharing a home under lockdown in London Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-03-25Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2022/03/25/sharing-a-home-under-lockdown-in-london/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/In	households	where	sharers	had	different	attitudes	to	lockdown,	this	could	be	the	source	of	tension.	Some	non-key-worker	respondents	worried	that	their	key-worker	housemates	might	expose	the	rest	of	the	household	to	thevirus.Flatmates	were	very	angry	that	I	left	the	house	to	go	to	work	and	used	public	transport	as	they	wereworried	about	their	own	health.	I	am	a	scientist	volunteering	with	the	COVID-19	testing	programme	andthey	are	healthy	white	males	under	the	age	of	30.The	abrupt	shift	to	widespread	WFH	during	the	pandemic	may	have	catalysed	a	long-lasting	change	in	therelationship	between	home	and	workplace.	Advances	in	information	technology	have	for	some	time	meant	that	it	istechnically	possible	for	many	to	work	not	in	dedicated	office	buildings	but	in	‘offices’	at	home.	COVID	has	shownthat	such	‘flexible	working’	is	not	only	technically	possible	but	feasible	in	practice.	Many	workers	prefer	it,	and	it	ischeaper	for	employers.Yet	implicit	in	sharing	practices,	planning	rules	and	HMO	regulations	is	the	assumption	that	for	the	most	part,	workdoes	not	take	place	in	the	home,	and	that	dedicated	workspace	in	the	home	is	nice	to	have,	but	not	essential.	Ifhome	working	is	to	be	normalised	and	expected	(or	required),	then	our	homes	need	to	reflect	this	reality.This	post	represents	the	views	of	the	authors	and	not	those	of	the	COVID-19	blog,	nor	LSE.	It	is	an	edited	extractfrom	Blanc,	Fanny	and	Scanlon	Bradley,	Kathleen	(2022)	Sharing	a	home	under	lockdown	in	London.	Buildings	&Cities.LSE Covid 19 Blog: Sharing a home under lockdown in London Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-03-25Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2022/03/25/sharing-a-home-under-lockdown-in-london/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/

Sharing a home under lockdown in London

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Sharing a home under lockdown in London

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