Furloughs, Teleworking and Other Work Situations during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Impact on Mental Well-Being

Abstract

As a consequence of the Spring 2020 lockdown that occurred in Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people lost their jobs or had to be furloughed. The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of the latter changes in labour market status on psychological well-being. For this purpose, an ad-hoc questionnaire featuring socio-demographic and mental health criteria was created. Granted that the pandemic can be viewed as an exogenous shock, the bias caused by the bidirectional problems between the work situation and mental well-being can be tackled. Results indicate that the lockdown exerted a greater negative effect on the self-perceived well-being of unemployed and furloughed persons than on those in employment. Moreover, among those in continuous employment, teleworkers experienced a lesser degree of self-perceived well-being post lockdown as compared to those people remaining in the same work location throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, the lockdown provoked worse effects on the self-perceived well-being of women as compared to men, a result that appears to be related to gender differences in household production. In conclusion, these results could be especially relevant given that the evolution of the pandemic is having ongoing effects on employment and, therefore, on the mental health of workers.

Habitability, Resilience, and Satisfaction in Mexican Homes to COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It has caused greater psychosocial and ergonomic risks in the health of teleworkers [ 33 ]. According to several studies, a greater increase in post-traumatic stress disorders was associated with confinement due to the pandemic [ 34 ]. Some people were negatively impacted by working at home instead of their workplace, causing them more stress [ 34 ].…”

“…According to several studies, a greater increase in post-traumatic stress disorders was associated with confinement due to the pandemic [ 34 ]. Some people were negatively impacted by working at home instead of their workplace, causing them more stress [ 34 ]. Among the various reasons, some authors point out that stress may be caused by the presence of children during the working day, as schools are closed.…”

“…Likewise, teleworking can cause teleworkers to dedicate more hours to work because they do not know how to differentiate the boundaries between private and work life [ 35 ]. Although some studies found positive impacts, some teleworkers highlighted that during confinement, working from home allowed them to be more efficient and they also experienced less exhaustion [ 34 ].…”

Associations between Depression, Anxiety, Fatigue, and Learning Motivating Factors in e-Learning-Based Computer Programming Education

“…Many students globally have been affected by the suspension of classes, and countries have faced the need for rapid implementation of e-learning. As a result, the question of learning motivation in e-learning is extremely important, particularly considering the observed statistically significant increase in the rates of anxiety and depression [65] and chronic fatigue [66].…”

Delineating the Implications of Dispersing Teams and Teleworking in an Agile UK Construction Sector

“…Since the term 'telecommuting' was first coined [1], the concept of teleworking has been considered and discussed from a variety of different perspectives and academic/industrial disciplines [2][3][4][5]. For example, organisational behaviour and social sciences researchers [6][7][8][9][10] consider teleworking from an intraorganisational and interpersonal perspective, detailing how work relationships and work/life balance is affected in teleworking scenarios.…”