SortedEffects: Sorted Causal Effects in R

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in work and lifestyle, impacting occupational mental health. This study examines the time and individual heterogeneity in the pandemic's effects on occupational mental health using panel data from job stress checks spanning 2018 to 2021. On average, there was an initial alleviation of high-stress risk in 2020, followed by a deterioration in 2021. Based on the job demand-resource theory, we identify the group of employees most affected by the pandemic. The findings highlight that employees in unfavorable workplace conditions are more likely to experience substantial adverse impacts. Adequate workplace support, including factors like interpersonal relationships, managerial support, job meaning, control, and work-life balance, is crucial for mitigating high-stress risk. Additionally, during the early phase of the pandemic, engaged employees experienced a slight decline in occupational mental health, while those lacking job resources at their worksite faced higher levels of occupational stress in the subsequent year. These findings offer practical suggestions for person-centered coping strategies to mitigate the pandemic's adverse impact.

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Lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic: who are the most affected

Xie

Piao

Managi

2023

Preprint

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Epidemic prevention policies during COVID-19 are considered effective ways to protect lives, but the dramatically changing work and lifestyle under those policies significantly impact occupational stress. Based on the panel data of job stress checks from 2018 to 2021, this study explores the time and individual heterogeneity in the impacts of the pandemic on occupational stress. Following the job demand-resource theory, we further identified the most affected group of employees, given their workplace factors. Our findings show that, on average, occupational stress was alleviated initially in 2020 but deteriorated again in 2021. By examining the heterogeneity effects, we found that less motivated employees are more likely to experience a significant fluctuation in high-stress risk due to the pandemic. Providing adequate workplace support is expected to mitigate the high-stress risk, especially interpersonal relationships, support from managers, job meaning, job control, and work-life balance. Motivated employees experienced higher occupational stress in the early phase of the pandemic, while less motivated employees tended to have higher occupational stress in the following years of the pandemic. The most effective workplace factors to mitigate the negative pandemic impacts on occupational stress vary across the years, requiring continuing studies to understand and provide person-centered coping solutions.

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SortedEffects: Sorted Causal Effects in R

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Work Hour Mismatch on Life Evaluation: Full Heterogeneity and Individual- and Country-Level Characteristics of the Most and Least Affected Workers

Work Hour Mismatch on Life Evaluation: Full Heterogeneity and Individual- and Country-Level Characteristics of the Most and Least Affected Workers

Lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic: who are the most affected

Lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic: who are the most affected

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