Pandemic effects linger as University of Minnesota students still spend most of their time at home. 

Americans spent more time working from home in 2023 than they did prior to the pandemic, according to data from the American Time Use Survey released in June. About 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home in 2023, compared to just 24% in 2019.

Liza Meredith, a licensed psychologist and University professor who studies college students’ mental health said the pandemic gave people a complicated relationship with the comfort and routine of being at home.

“Sometimes we can develop really engrained routines at home that don’t even help us anymore, right?” Meredith said. “It might prevent us from saying yes to a really good opportunity, like going out and seeing friends or seeing a concert or doing something we care about.”

In a survey of undergraduate University students conducted by the Minnesota Daily, about 89% of respondents said doing school work is one of the two things they spend the most time doing at home.

Tristan Sohr, a third-year student, said he does the majority of his schoolwork at his off-campus apartment because he is most comfortable there, despite knowing he is more likely to get distracted.

“Because it’s the environment I’ve set up around me, I have a lot of stuff that I enjoy doing,” Sohr said. “So instead of working on an assignment, I might end up using my 3D printer or something completely unrelated, not productive, at least for schoolwork.”

Meredith said there is a positive work-life balance side to the lingering pandemic effect.

“Maybe the pandemic slowed some of us down and made us realize, ‘I don’t need to be doing as much of what I was doing before,’” Meredith said. “If people are still getting out and doing the things they value sometimes, it’s not so bad if they’re doing a little bit less than what they used to be.”

Exactly 75% of students said they feel recharged by being at home and 25% said they prefer doing activities outside of their home, according to the Minnesota Daily survey.

Third-year University student Wayde DeYoe said the pandemic changed how he and his friends socialize today, spending more time communicating online than in person.

“We used to hang out before in person and play board games,” DeYoe said. “But is there really a reason to go over to a friend’s house to play games when you can just do it online?”

These at-home attitudes could be changing. The majority of students who responded to the survey said they spend the same amount of time or less at home today than they did before the pandemic.

Meredith said she noticed a striking difference in her freshman students’ preferences for being on campus this fall compared to her students in 2023.

“I’m not having students miss classes as often, they seem more in the routine of coming in person for things,” Meredith said. “Last year, I gave students the choice to take the exam from home or take it in an exam room and very few people came to the exam room.”

Data from the American Time Use Survey for 2024 will not be available until next year, so changes to how Americans spend their time at home will not be clear until then. 

DeYoe said he does most of his schoolwork on campus because it is where he feels most focused.

Meredith said she feels more productive in her own life when she works in person and gets out during her day and thinks college students may be experiencing a similar post-pandemic learning curve.

“When forced to go out, they have a better experience and a better day,” Meredith said. “Maybe over time that kind of reward they’re getting for having a better day, actually being out, will help us change our preferences.”