Implications of COVID-19: The Effect of Working From Home on Financial and Mental Well-Being in the UK

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Department of Public Finance, Nazilli Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey

2 Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Izmir University Bakırcay, Izmir, Turkey

Abstract

In response to the threat posed by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the UK prime minister announced on the 23rd of March strict lockdowns and introduced a new way of living and working, at least temporarily. This included working from home (WHF) wherever possible. Many experts from the IT industry were long arguing about the potential for WFH, which suddenly now became indisputable. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of WFH on the individuals’ perception about their future financial situation and their mental well-being. We apply a differencein-differences (DiD) framework using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) combined with the UKHLS COVID-19 survey conducted in April 2020. Our findings suggest that those who have not experienced a shift from working at the employer’s premises to WFH became more concerned about their future financial situation. However, we find that WFH has a negative impact on mental well-being. On the other hand, we find no difference in the mental well- being when we consider those who work from home on occasion. The findings of this study have policy implications for government, firms and health practitioners. In particular, a balance between WFH and at the employer’s premises may provide both financial security and maintain the mental and psychological well-being at satisfying levels.

Keywords

Main Subjects

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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 11, Issue 9
September 2022
Pages 1635-1641

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 August 2020
  • Revise Date: 22 March 2021
  • Accept Date: 28 March 2021
  • First Publish Date: 21 April 2021

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