The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has deeply altered social and working environments in several ways. Social distancing policies, mandatory lockdowns, isolation periods, and anxiety of getting sick, along with the suspension of productive activity, loss of income, and fear of the future, jointly influence the mental health of citizens and workers. Workplace aspects can play a crucial role on moderating or worsening mental health of people facing this pandemic scenario. The purpose of this literature review is to deepen the psychological aspects linked to workplace factors, following the epidemic rise of COVID-19, in order to address upcoming psychological critical issues in the workplaces. We performed a literature search using Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus, selecting papers focusing on workers’ psychological problems that can be related to the workplace during the pandemic. Thirty-five articles were included. Mental issues related to the health emergency, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and sleep disorders are more likely to affect healthcare workers, especially those on the frontline, migrant workers, and workers in contact with the public. Job insecurity, long periods of isolation, and uncertainty of the future worsen the psychological condition, especially in younger people and in those with a higher educational background. Multiple organizational and work-related interventions can mitigate this scenario, such as the improvement of workplace infrastructures, the adoption of correct and shared anti-contagion measures, including regular personal protective equipment (PPE) supply, and the implementation of resilience training programs. This review sets the basis for a better understanding of the psychological conditions of workers during the pandemic, integrating individual and social perspectives, and providing insight into possible individual, social, and occupational approaches to this “psychological pandemic”.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a traumatic event that has profoundly changed working conditions with detrimental consequences for workers’ health, in particular for the healthcare population directly involved in addressing the emergency. Nevertheless, previous research has demonstrated that traumatic experiences can also lead to positive reactions, stimulating resilience and feelings of growth. The aim of this narrative review is to investigate the positive aspects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible health prevention and promotion strategies by analyzing the available scientific evidence. In particular, we focus on the constructs of resilience, coping strategies and posttraumatic growth (PTG). A literature search was performed on the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Psycinfo databases. Forty-six articles were included in the literature synthesis. Psychological resilience is a fundamental variable for reducing and preventing the negative psychological effects of the pandemic and is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety and burnout. At the individual and organizational level, resilience plays a crucial role in enhancing wellbeing in healthcare and non-healthcare workers. Connected to resilience, adaptive coping strategies are essential for managing the emergency and work-related stress. Several positive factors influencing resilience have been highlighted in the development of PTG. At the same time, high levels of resilience and positive coping strategies can enhance personal growth. Considering the possible long-term coexistence and consequences of COVID-19, organizational interventions should aim to improve workers’ adaptive coping skills, resilience and PTG in order to promote wellbeing.

Infectious disease control is a crucial public health issue. Although it is important to urgently perform public health measures in order to reduce the risk of spread, it could end up stigmatizing entire groups of people rather than offering control measures based on sound scientific principles. This “us” versus “them” dynamic is common in stigmatization, in general, and indicates a way in which disease stigma can be viewed as a proxy for other types of fears, especially xenophobia and general fear of outsiders. The pandemic risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection led us to consider, among other related issues, how stigma and discrimination remain serious barriers to care for people suspected of being infected, even more if they are assisting professions, such as health workers, employed in emergency response. The purpose of this review is to evaluate and promote the importance of psychological aspects of the stigma and social discrimination (SAD) in pandemic realities and, more specifically, nowadays, in the context of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Just as it happened with HIV, HCV, tuberculosis, and Zika, stigma and discrimination undermine the social fabric compromising the ethics and principles of civilization to which each individual in entitled. Recognizing disease stigma history can give us insight into how, exactly, stigmatizing attitudes are formed, and how they are disbanded. Instead of simply blaming the ignorance of people espousing stigmatizing attitudes about certain diseases, we should try to understand precisely how these attitudes are formed so that we can intervene in their dissemination. We should also look at history to see what sorts of interventions against stigma may have worked in the past. Ongoing research into stigma should evaluate what has worked in the past, as above-mentioned, providing us with some clues as to what might work in the current pandemic emergency, to reduce devastating discrimination that keeps people from getting the care they need. We propose a systematic and historical review, in order to create a scientific and solid base for the following SAD analysis. The aim is to propose a coping strategy to face stigma and discrimination (SAD) related to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, borrowing coping strategy tools and solutions from other common contagious diseases. Furthermore, our study observes how knowledge, education level, and socioeconomic status (SES) can influence perception of SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19 risk in a digital world, based on previous research, best practices, and evidence-based research.

With ongoing climate change, which alters the conditions for pathogens and vectors, zoonotic diseases such as monkeypox virus will become a challenge and a great threat impacting global health in future decades. A current outbreak of monkeypox is occurring in over 125 countries, with a report of thousands of cases in countries where this virus has never appeared. Occupational exposure to the monkeypox virus has recently been identified as an issue of major concern for occupational health, especially in healthcare settings. A scoping review following the PRISMA guidelines was performed, aiming to analyze the effects that the current monkeypox outbreak has in workplaces, given the potential exposure of healthcare workers to the virus, the possible spread of the virus in occupational settings, and the preventive measures that are necessary to implement. At the end of the selection process, 21 studies were included in the review. Healthcare workers are considered at a high risk, and similar preventive measures to those adopted during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic must be implemented in all healthcare settings. The main recommendations for preventing and managing monkeypox in occupational settings are the vaccination of exposed workers, the prompt identification and isolation of infected individuals, and good hygiene practices. Education and specific training are necessary in non-endemic countries to make healthcare workers able to recognize the disease and prevent further contagions. Although monkeypox seems unlikely to reach the pandemic spread of COVID-19, an approach to global health even to avoid future zoonotic epidemics is required by all stakeholders.

The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused crucial changes in the workplace. Almost two years after the start of the COVID-19 era, new and old psychosocial risks in the workplace threaten workers’ mental wellbeing and represent an occupational health challenge. The aim of this review is to identify the most relevant psychosocial factors, negative or protective, contributing to occupational stress during the current pandemic. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar and PsycINFO and a total of 51 articles were deemed suitable for inclusion in the review. Analysis of the retrieved articles revealed five main topics related to psychosocial wellbeing in the workplace: 1. Support from colleagues and organizations; 2. Home–work interface and balance; 3. Changes in workload and work demand; 4. Job competence and appropriate training; 5. Job insecurity and financial stress. All five themes were associated with occupational stress and poor mental outcomes, like anxiety, depression, and burnout symptoms. Peer and organizational support seem to have a major impact on workers’ mental wellbeing. Recognizing these factors and projecting interventions that mitigate their effects or boost their efficacy is a fundamental step towards dealing with COVID-19 in the workplace, or any such future emergencies.