Occupational disruptions during lockdown, by generation: A European descriptive cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Introduction The periods of lockdown during 2020 led to changes in daily occupations. As participation relies on dynamic interactions between the person, his/her occupations and his/her environment, we wondered whether people from different generations shared the same perception of occupational disruptions during the lockdown. Methods We performed an online survey based on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) of adults in 27 European Union countries, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Three groups were compared: young adults (YAs, aged 18–39), middle-aged adults (MAs, aged 40–59) and older adults (OAs, aged 60 and over). Results 2865 participants (YAs: 47%; MAs: 33%; OAs: 20%) reported a total of 6549 disrupted occupations. The most frequently disrupted domain was leisure (83%), followed by productivity (16%) and self-care (2%); there were no significant intergroup differences ( p = 0.18). In a multivariate analysis, socializing disruptions were more likely to be associated with younger age (adjusted odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 0.62 [0.50–0.76] for YAs versus MAs and 0.46 [0.30–0.71] for YAs versus OAs. Conclusion With the exception of socializing, the main disrupted occupations were similar from one generation to another. Our findings might enable the more accurate assessment of the risk of occupational disruption in a restrictive environment.

Changes in Daily Occupations Patterns, Optimism, and Positive Affect During COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Comparing our results to previous studies about occupational disruption during the COVID-19 epidemic is challenging because the tools relate to different occupations. For instance, in contrast to our results, a European descriptive cross-sectional survey found leisure, which could be perceived as recreation, to be the most-affected occupation during the lockdowns (Engels et al, 2022). However, dividing leisure into active leisure and quiet recreation shows more precise results.…”

“…During the lockdown, people were forced to stay at home, resulting in a massive shift in how they lived, worked, socialized, and played. People adapted with marked changes in their daily occupations, routines, and habits (Brown, 2021; Engels et al, 2022). Staying at home created many uncertainties in self-efficacy regarding personal health, economic status, and social situations (Lin & Fisher, 2020).…”

Which Occupations Did People Engage in during Lockdown? A European Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey by Generation

“…Except for the performance score recorded by OAs regarding self-care occupations, all the satisfaction and performance score increased by ≥2 points; this is considered to be a clinically significant difference (M. [ 17 ]). Although lockdown led to 6549 restricted occupations in the same sample (mainly leisure activities (83%) and productive activities (16%) [ 12 ]), it also allowed more engagement in and greater satisfaction with some occupations. Lastly, we observed a two-point difference between YAs and OAs with regard to the change in the leisure performance score.…”

“…We therefore wondered whether people of different ages manage differently during lockdown. In the first publication, we explored occupational disruption during lockdown, by generation [ 12 ]. In the present study, we sought to determine how opportunities for occupational engagement were taken up during lockdown, in order to objectify and quantify occupations that were more frequently performed by the general population in a context of environmental restrictions that had never been applied before on such a broad scale.…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s occupations

“…These measures included social distancing, staying at home recommendations, closing schools and non-essential workplaces, using masks, and personal hygiene. These response measures and limitations significantly affected the daily occupations of all age groups (Engels et al, 2021).…”