Knightley, E, Koutsopoulou, G and Keyworth, C orcid.org/0000-0002-7815-6174 (2023) Changes in office workers’ lived experiences of their own eating habits since working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Appetite, 188. 106760. ISSN 0195-6663
Abstract
In response to the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been little insight into how office workers perceived their own eating behaviour in relation to their new home working environment. The sedentary nature of office-based jobs means that it is crucial that workers in these occupations engage in health behaviours that are beneficial to them. The present study aimed to explore how office workers perceive changes to their own eating behaviour since the transition to working from home (WFH) as a consequence of the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six volunteer office workers who previously worked in an office environment and who are now WFH. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, allowing the researcher to explore each account and understand their lived experiences. There were five superordinate themes: Healthy eating; time constraints; escaping the office; social cognitions; and food indulgence. Increased snacking behaviour since WFH was a major challenge, which was particularly potent during times of elevated stress. Furthermore, quality of nutrition since WFH appeared to coincide with the participants’ wellbeing, such that this was reported as being worst at times of low wellbeing. Future studies must focus on developing strategies to improve the eating behaviours and the general wellbeing of office workers as they continue to WFH. These findings can then be utilised for the development of health promoting behaviours.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Interpretative phenomenological analysis; Qualitative; Work from home; Eating behavior |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 05 Jul 2023 16:44 |
Last Modified: | 26 Jul 2023 14:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106760 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:200884 |