Short-Term Effects of Short-Term Work: Dynamics in Fatigue across Two National Lockdowns

Abstract

Objective: Anecdotal evidence suggests work fatigue has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and work interventions to offset stresses have been effective. Our study sought to test these propositions, documenting and describing the complexity of worker well-being around two lockdown periods. Methods: Using 17 waves of data from a longitudinal study in Germany (December 2019 to June 2021, n = 1,053 employees), we model discontinuous changes in work fatigue and how participation in a government-sponsored short-term work program (Kurzarbeit) affected change trajectories. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has not invariably resulted in work fatigue, and individuals with Kurzarbeit at the first lockdown (but not the second) showed significantly larger decreases in each form of fatigue at this transition. Conclusions: Future policy interventions will require more contextual nuance to effectively support worker well-being during public health crises.

Stress at Work and Well-being Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Short-term work was a significant predictor of less emotional exhaustion and irritation. This finding is consistent with the results of Rauvola et al, 45 who showed that individuals with short-term work had a significantly greater decrease in physical, mental, and emotional fatigue during the first lockdown in Germany. In our study in 2021, 191 people in the sample were in short-term work.…”

“…Short-term work schedules are an alternative to laying off employees when their employer gets into difficulties. 45 In such schedules, employees keep their employment contract but work reduced hours (or even none at all) and get compensated through unemployment insurance for a substantial part of their income (in Switzerland, typically approximately 80%). The pertinent question asked, "Were you on short-term work during the last 12 months?"…”

“…Related to such developments, worrying about losing one's job and associated financial problems are associated with impaired well-being, such as higher anxiety and depression 42,43 and stress. 44 However, it must be noted that short-term work may mitigate these concerns 45 ; it entails reducing hours but staying employed and being compensated financially to some degree through unemployment insurance (in Switzerland, typically 80%).…”

All set in stone? How essentialist beliefs about aging affect older workers' motivation to continue working beyond retirement age

“…Data for this study were collected as part of a larger longitudinal data collection effort. So far, seven articles based on the same dataset, but with completely different research questions and completely different sets of substantive variables, have been published ((Rudolph & Zacher, 2021; Zacher & Rudolph, 2021a; Zacher & Rudolph, 2021b; Zacher et al, 2021; Koziel et al, 2021; Rudolph et al, in press; Rauvola et al, in press) [Correction added on 20 June 2022, after first online publication: The seven articles mentioned are now cited in this version.]). Data were collected at three measurement occasions separated by 3 months in December 2019 (Time [T] 1), March 2020 (T2), and June 2020 (T3).…”