Covid 19/Coronavirus

[Drew]

Remote work poses risks to physical health

Story at a glance Health experts worry about the physical toll remote work might have on some people. Their main concern is that remote work promotes a more sedentary lifestyle,&nbsp…

thehill.com

That's - IMO - bullshit.

People who are going to be sedentary are going to be more sedentary working from home. People who are going to be active, however, will also be more active.

After the initial market freak-out settled down, I started using my lunch breaks to go out doing training rides on my road bike. I had a few health setbacks in 2021 and, especially, 2022, but I think I'm back at the point where I was by mid-2020, when I'm pretty sure I was in the best cycling shape of my life. Lots of people gained weight during covid; I probably lost ten or fifteen pounds.

All it did was brought out already-existing underlying behaviors. On days I commute to work, sure, I get a fifteen minute bike ride each way, but the way in especially I'm taking it easy to try not to break a sweat so it hardly counts as training beyond mere time in the saddle. I got much more productive training in when I could go out and do a proper effort and then hop in the shower before signing back on.

 

[jaxadam]

That's - IMO - bullshit.

People who are going to be sedentary are going to be more sedentary working from home. People who are going to be active, however, will also be more active.

After the initial market freak-out settled down, I started using my lunch breaks to go out doing training rides on my road bike. I had a few health setbacks in 2021 and, especially, 2022, but I think I'm back at the point where I was by mid-2020, when I'm pretty sure I was in the best cycling shape of my life. Lots of people gained weight during covid; I probably lost ten or fifteen pounds.

All it did was brought out already-existing underlying behaviors. On days I commute to work, sure, I get a fifteen minute bike ride each way, but the way in especially I'm taking it easy to try not to break a sweat so it hardly counts as training beyond mere time in the saddle. I got much more productive training in when I could go out and do a proper effort and then hop in the shower before signing back on.

That’s exactly what happened here. Active people just got more active, or rather more visibly active. Instead of getting up at 4:30-5:00 AM and running/working out, or saying fuck it to an late night after work workout, they are able to choose more optimal and visible windows. My wife is currently getting up at 5:15 AM to go to 6 AM classes, no thanks.

 

[wankerness]

Yeah, almost everyone I know who works from home now is in much better shape than before cause they don't have a ton of their time and energy sapped by a soul-sucking commute where they'd be forced into a sitting position in their car for at least an hour, and they don't have to worry about getting sweaty from exercise during lunch break or whatever. That thehill piece reads like corporate-sponsored propaganda to try and get everyone back in cubicles so bosses can better try to justify their salaries.

I can guarantee that the people that they found now only move 16 steps a day to get to their computer were not getting proper exercise at their non-remote job, either. If the only exercise they were getting was walking to their car and then walking to their desk they'd barely be better off. I don't know of anyone who stopped exercising due to not having to go into the office. Probably there's some out there, but I can't imagine it's a significant percentage compared to those who are now better able to exercise.

 

[narad]

I guess this is the difference between city/suburban life. WFH took away about 90 minutes of walking for my daily commute, just in terms of getting to the station and taking the train. I hate using that time that way, but it no doubt regularized my health a bit. And gyms where I am suck, it's not easy for me to just reallocate that time to the gym because there are very narrow windows where you can go without having someone on practically every machine. I don't think I'm a total minority there, but it is a consequence of a very particular city lifestyle.

I think the take-away is just that everyone's work situation is so different that it's hard to look at any of these meta studies that conclude that WFH is like "universally" more/less productive and more/less healthy and find a single conclusive answer.

 

[DrewH]

I've been WFH for about 14 of my career years. At 46, I just had blood work done and I have the levels of someone in their 20s. That linked article is really suspect in my opinion. We are who we are and will be that person no matter what the situation is. If anything, I move MORE now. I don't have someone keeping an eye on me watching when I'm at my desk. I'm always up walking around the house and yard to keep myself limber. I have flexibility now to do things like go to the gym or the driving range at lunch, which are things I would have trouble fitting in after traditional work day after the commute home. WFH has really helped me mentally. I don't have to worry about fitting my work into these 8 to 5 days. If I'm not focused and productive, I'll just take off early for the day and make it up another day or on the weekend when my brain is in a better place. I would say that physically and mentally I'm at one of the best places I've been my entire life and WFH is a large part of that.

 

[Drew]

I guess this is the difference between city/suburban life. WFH took away about 90 minutes of walking for my daily commute, just in terms of getting to the station and taking the train. I hate using that time that way, but it no doubt regularized my health a bit. And gyms where I am suck, it's not easy for me to just reallocate that time to the gym because there are very narrow windows where you can go without having someone on practically every machine. I don't think I'm a total minority there, but it is a consequence of a very particular city lifestyle.

I think the take-away is just that everyone's work situation is so different that it's hard to look at any of these meta studies that conclude that WFH is like "universally" more/less productive and more/less healthy and find a single conclusive answer.

That's kind of what I was getting at though. Prior to covid I was commuting by bike in the summer (call it 40 minute round trip), and walking/subway in the winter (probably 60 minutes of walking round trip). When my office shut down, well, I promptly GOT covid which slowed me down a bit, but once I was able to work out and go outside again, the total amount of active time I was getting didn't decrease (quite the reverse), but the intensity of that time got a lot harder, and I was able to get in quality workouts rather than just get from point A to point B. And after the initial madness, when things slowed down a little, I was able to sign off and get straight out on my bike at 5, rather than maybe an hour later after I was home.

And, as you said, if you weren't commuting in a city that involved 90 minutes of walking, you wouldn't have walked at all, right? It took both of our natural tendencies, and just turned them up.

 

[narad]

That's kind of what I was getting at though. Prior to covid I was commuting by bike in the summer (call it 40 minute round trip), and walking/subway in the winter (probably 60 minutes of walking round trip). When my office shut down, well, I promptly GOT covid which slowed me down a bit, but once I was able to work out and go outside again, the total amount of active time I was getting didn't decrease (quite the reverse), but the intensity of that time got a lot harder, and I was able to get in quality workouts rather than just get from point A to point B. And after the initial madness, when things slowed down a little, I was able to sign off and get straight out on my bike at 5, rather than maybe an hour later after I was home.

And, as you said, if you weren't commuting in a city that involved 90 minutes of walking, you wouldn't have walked at all, right? It took both of our natural tendencies, and just turned them up.

Yea, an unfortunate personal preference there -- I like to lift, I don't like to bike or run. If I had a home gym like I did in the US, WFH would have probably made me a little healthier. I'm vacationing now, so basically a kind of WFH situation, and going to a proper gym mid-day -- it's fantastic. Shame it's like 3 weeks a year.

 

[Vostre Roy]

After 8 years of working 14 days rotations (12/h per day for 14 days and then 14 days off), I'll be transitioning to an "hybrid" schedule by the end of the summer. Basically, its going to be split like this:

- 2x weeks of 5/2 (40h weeks) working from home
- 1x week of 7 days at my work site (12h shifts but paid 80h total)
- 1x week off from work

Personally, this is the best outcome possible, going back entirely on a 5/2 schedule with commute was not interesting at all to me, I'll be working more days in a month but will sleep in my home more often and also be there for one extra weekend every month. And that 7 days off, while being less than the 14 days I have as of now, is still pretty sweet.

Sorry if this looks like bragging, but since the topic revolved around WFH I figured I'd share my situation.

 

[Randy]

Conservative Twitter told me Jamie Foxx was a vegetable because of the COVID vaccine. What happened?

 

[spudmunkey]

Jamie Foxx surprises woman in Chicago by retrieving lost purse, she says actor is 'strong and well' | Fox News

Amid his recovery, Jamie Foxx was caught on video being a hero - returning a woman's missing purse to her and giving her a hug.

www.foxnews.com