In order to have the best possible chance of achieving ‘decent work’ and ‘climate action’ as laid forth in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, government and policy makers must pay close attention to current time-use patterns, as well as the way these might change in the near future. Here we contribute to the existing literature on time-use behaviour through a systematic exploration of the relationship between working patterns and energy consumption from the perspective of time-use. Our starting point is the premise that different work arrangements impact the timing of energy demand not only in workplaces, but also at home. Using the data from the 2014–2015 UK time-use survey, we were able to capture patterns of time-use behaviours and to assess their relationship with daily energy consumption. We propose a systematic time-use-based approach for estimating residential energy consumption with regards to activity timing, activity location, activity coordination, and appliance type. We use this method to discover patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns. In this study, we unpack the heterogeneity in the work–energy relationship, particularly when comparing full-time and part-time workers. Our results suggest that full-time employees have a higher potential to reduce their energy use compared to part-time employees. We also discover a non-linear change in total energy consumption for respondents with varying levels of work time. Energy consumption reductions associated with differences in work schedules are greatest during the first few hours of the workday, but then level off. Our findings suggests that time-use data can provide useful insights for evaluating and possibly designing energy and labour-market policies.

Despite its ‘wordless’ and hidden characteristics, it is within the everyday tasks, routines, and rhythms that consumption takes place, from getting up every morning, having breakfast, going to work or school, having lunch, going home, having dinner, reading a book, surfing the Internet, watching TV, and probably doing similar things again and again. This study examines this routinized daily use of time of employed individuals based on the 2014–2015 UK Time-Use Survey data. In doing this, we focus on individual’s day-to-day activities and how they are routinized or how they are formed into stabilized practices. Starting from the definition of stable practices, we apply a relatively new method of social network analysis to visualize stable practices during workdays. We then analyse the cohesion between practices based on work hours and connections and coordination between practices. Our results suggest that work arrangements create stable practices that by themselves are stone pillars of daily routines. This implies that the removal (or ‘unlocking’) of stable practices during these time periods could produce some – albeit marginal – decongestion of routinized activities.

Extended abstract 5-056-26 This poster presentation explores how climate services can be embedded across the planning, design, and everyday use of Loddon Garden Village, a large-scale new settlement in the UK, through the lens of social practice theory. Social practice theory emphasises that practices are shaped by the interaction of material infrastructures, social norms, institutional arrangements, and knowledge, making it a useful framework for examining how climate information is produced, interpreted, and acted upon in urban development. From this perspective, climate services are not standalone tools but elements embedded within broader practices. Their effectiveness depends on how they integrate with existing routines, infrastructures, and institutional contexts. Climate services function as components of practice, becoming meaningful only when combined with other elements such as tools, skills, and local knowledge. They are also mediated through infrastructures that shape access and interpretation, while being shared across multiple users and purposes. In addition, climate services operate within interconnected bundles of practices, requiring alignment with institutional processes, temporal rhythms, and social norms. The research investigates five interconnected dimensions. First, it examines how climate and environmental data—such as flood risk, temperature rise, drought, and extreme weather projections—can inform early planning decisions and infrastructure design, ensuring that housing, transport networks, and public spaces are resilient to future climate risks. Second, it analyses the decision-making practices of planners and developers, drawing on planning documentation to assess how climate services are currently used in land-use decisions, infrastructure planning, and risk mitigation, and to identify barriers to their effective integration. Finaly, the study considers the social and cultural context of climate services within the emerging community. Through the planning consultation meetings, it explores how residents engage with climate information in everyday practices such as energy use, water consumption, mobility, and gardening, and how social networks and community institutions can support the uptake of climate services. Read the full Download presentation.

I am grateful for the opportunity to review your manuscript and, in this way, collaborate with other reviewers/scientists through the Qeios platform. My observations/notes are as follows: This is a good topic but there are some important points: ...