Association of changes in work due to COVID-19 pandemic with psychosocial work environment and employee health: a cohort study of 24 299 Finnish public sector employees

Abstract

ObjectivesTo examine the associations of COVID-19-related changes in work with perceptions of psychosocial work environment and employee health.MethodsIn a cohort of 24 299 Finnish public sector employees, psychosocial work environment and employee well-being were assessed twice before (2016 and 2018=reference period) and once during (2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who reported a change (=‘Exposed’) in work due to the pandemic (working from home, new tasks or team reorganisation) were compared with those who did not report such change (=‘Non-exposed’).ResultsAfter adjusting for sex, age, socioeconomic status and lifestyle risk score, working from home (44%) was associated with greater increase in worktime control (standardised mean difference (SMD)Exposed=0.078, 95% CI 0.066 to 0.090; SMDNon-exposed=0.025, 95% CI 0.014 to 0.036), procedural justice (SMDExposed=0.101, 95% CI 0.084 to 0.118; SMDNon-exposed=0.053, 95% CI 0.038 to 0.068), workplace social capital (SMDExposed=0.094, 95% CI 0.077 to 0.110; SMDNon-exposed=0.034, 95% CI 0.019 to 0.048), less decline in self-rated health (SMDExposed=−0.038, 95% CI −0.054 to –0.022; SMDNon-exposed=−0.081, 95% CI −0.095 to –0.067), perceived work ability (SMDExposed=−0.091, 95% CI −0.108 to –0.074; SMDNon-exposed=−0.151, 95% CI −0.167 to –0.136) and less increase in psychological distress (risk ratio (RR)Exposed=1.06, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.09; RRNon-exposed=1.16, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.20). New tasks (6%) were associated with greater increase in psychological distress (RRExposed=1.28, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.39; RRNon-exposed=1.10, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.12) and team reorganisation (5%) with slightly steeper decline in perceived work ability (SMDExposed=−0.151 95% CI −0.203 to –0.098; SMDNon-exposed=−0.124, 95% CI −0.136 to –0.112).ConclusionEmployees who worked from home during the pandemic had more favourable psychosocial work environment and health, whereas those who were exposed to work task changes and team reorganisations experienced more adverse changes.

Healthy and Happy Working from Home? Effects of Working from Home on Employee Health and Job Satisfaction

“…Moreover, a recent large-scale Finnish cohort study found that WFH was associated with decreases in self-rated health and work ability, although the effect was smaller than among employees not WFH. The same study showed that decreased work ability was associated with team reorganization due to COVID-19 [14].…”

“…For example, the work environment at home can promote concentration, reduce the number of interruptions, and allow for more privacy [13]. WFH during COVID-19 allows some employees more flexibility in terms of working hours, which may be associated with positive psychosocial outcomes [14]. However, in another study, nearly 34% of home office workers reported that they split their work time between evenings and weekends, leading to a decrease in recovery periods [15].…”

Exceso de mortalidad en población en edad de trabajar en nueve países de Latinoamérica, año 2020

“…Como consecuencia de esta recesión, y según la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), ese mismo año se perdió el 8,8% de horas de trabajo, equivalentes a 255 millones de empleos a tiempo completo ( 4 ). Además, se produjeron cambios drásticos en las formas y los lugares de trabajo ( 5 ), tales como, ajustes de plantilla, reducción de horas de trabajo, cesación de actividad de los autónomos, e incremento del teletrabajo, entre otros ( 6 ). Estos cambios y las pérdidas de empleos afectan principalmente a las poblaciones más vulnerables, entre ellos los empleos informales.…”

Concurrent trajectories of self-rated health and working hour patterns in health care shift workers: A longitudinal analysis with 8-year follow-up

“…Participants were drawn from the Finnish Public Sector cohort study ( 22 , 23 ), and they were employees of ten towns, four hospital districts, and two other health care organizations. They were followed up with questionnaire surveys at 2 to 4-year intervals in 2008–2016.…”