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Nature visits buffered against loneliness during COVID-19, especially among those mainly working remotely: a population-based study of working adults in Sweden
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Work and organizational psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4610-0368
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Personality, Social and Developmental Psychology.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Work and organizational psychology. Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Education.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8213-1391
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Stress Research Institute. Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Psychobiology and epidemiology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2908-1903
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Number of Authors: 52025 (English)In: Journal of Public Health, ISSN 2198-1833, E-ISSN 1613-2238Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions posed challenges to people’s private and work lives. This included a rapid shift from on-site to remote work for many working adults in Sweden and internationally, and limited opportunities for indoor social and leisure activities. This involved risks for increased loneliness and social isolation, particularly among those mainly working remotely. In this context, nature visits may mitigate loneliness. This study adds to existing research in investigating whether a higher degree of remote work during COVID-19 was related to increased loneliness and whether nature visits mitigated loneliness, especially for those who mainly worked remotely. Subject and methods: The sample comprised a subsample of respondents to the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health 2020 (n = 984). Nature-related habits (NRH) were measured using self-reported frequency of visits to various natural environments. The effect of remote work, NRH, and time on loneliness (before – during COVID-19) was analyzed using linear mixed models while controlling for confounders. Results: Loneliness levels during COVID-19 were highest and increased the most compared to before the pandemic among individuals with the greatest degree of working remotely. Engaging daily in NRH was associated with lower loneliness levels, particularly among individuals mostly working remotely. This was observed in a three-way interaction effect between remote work, NRH, and time on loneliness. Conclusion: Daily nature visits may protect against loneliness during and beyond crises like COVID-19, particularly for those mainly working remotely. Policies preserving and facilitating access to nature may promote resilience during and beyond crises like COVID-19.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025.
Keywords [en]
health-related behaviors, lifestyle, loneliness, nature visits, remote work, resilience
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-243366DOI: 10.1007/s10389-025-02465-6ISI: 001494229200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105004900898OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-243366DiVA, id: diva2:1959674
Note

Open access funding provided by Stockholm University. This research was supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (grant 2020-00977) and the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (grant FR-2020-02888), awarded to CUDS.

Available from: 2025-05-21 Created: 2025-05-21 Last updated: 2025-10-03

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Klein, YannickBekke Rønneberg Nilsen, IdaLindfors, PetraMagnusson Hanson, LindaStenfors, Cecilia U. D.

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Klein, YannickBekke Rønneberg Nilsen, IdaLindfors, PetraMagnusson Hanson, LindaStenfors, Cecilia U. D.
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Work and organizational psychologyPersonality, Social and Developmental PsychologyDepartment of EducationStress Research InstitutePsychobiology and epidemiologyAging Research Center (ARC), (together with KI)
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Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine

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