Wearing PJs ‘bad for WFH mental health’

Never having to get changed out of tracksuit pants and hoodies was considered one of the few benefits of the pandemic.

Never having to get changed out of tracksuit pants and hoodies was considered one of the few benefits of the pandemic.

Now medical research has found wearing pyjamas while working from home is linked to poorer mental health.

The study, undertaken in the midst of the lockdown during April and May, found that those who wore pyjamas while working from home reported worse mental health than those who had young children.

The survey of 163 academics and other staff at research centres around the country, published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday, was written by Woolcock Institute academics David Chapman and Cindy Thamrin. “The sad reality of Sydney housing costs means many researchers cannot afford homes with separate studies or work areas,” they wrote. “Improved productivity was most frequently reported by survey respondents for specific tasks, including article writing … however, early career researchers were less likely to report increased productivity.”

Despite this, they found “a larger proportion of people who wore pyjamas during work hours than of non-pyjama wearers reported a decline in mental health during the pandemic”.

Their advice: get changed before beginning work.