Analysis of Changes in Time Use and Activity Participation in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Implications for Well-Being
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: This research aims to investigate the well-being implications of changes in activity-travel and time-use patterns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study uses American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from 2019 and 2020 to assess changes in activity-travel and time-use patterns. It applies two methods—a well-being scoring method and a time-poverty analysis method—to evaluate the impacts of these changes on society. The results show that individuals experienced diminished well-being during the pandemic even when their time-poverty statistics showed an improvement; this is because the pandemic did not allow individuals to pursue activities in a way that would enhance well-being. In general, well-being is positively associated with the pursuit of discretionary activities in the company of others in favored out-of-home locations. This explains why people have rapidly embraced traveling again in a post-pandemic era. At the same time, people desire more discretionary time (less time poverty); because the elimination of the commute contributes to this, workers are reluctant to return fully to the workplace. Planning processes need to account for a new normal in which activity-travel patterns will be increasingly shaped by the human desire to accumulate positive life experiences.
Language: English
Topic: Social impacts of COVID-19
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: FW-HTF-P/Collaborative Research: Designing a Market-based Optimization Tool for the Future of Work: Balancing Remote Work and Community Vitality in Post-COVID American Cities, NRT: Citizen-Centered Smart Cities and Smart Living, G8105061583, LEAP-HI: Re-Engineering for Adaptable Lives and Businesses
OpenAlex ID: W4366759666