About this episode

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how people work, travel, spend their free time, and interact with each other. This change was in large part influenced by the restrictions that governments put in place to limit the spread of the virus. Researchers at the Economic and Social Research Council Centre for Time Use Research, part of University College London, have been monitoring how people’s behaviours changed across different stages of the pandemic.

Over the past two years, governments worldwide have been implementing new rules and measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, in order to limit hospital admissions and prevent death. This included urging people to work from home, close their businesses, wear protective masks, get tested for the virus before travelling, and in particularly critical moments, to only leave the house when strictly necessary.

These new rules have had a serious impact on the lives of most people worldwide, causing them to change their routine interactions and daily activities. While we are all aware of the changes that followed COVID-19 restrictions, so far there have been relatively few studies investigating the detailed behavioural effects of the new regulations as the pandemic played out.

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