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

Abstract

Objective To analyze the development of conditions at work and health-related variables (notably exhaustion) in Switzerland longitudinally before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Questionnaire data were collected from a population-based sample of 1,553 employees in February 2020 and one year later. Health and well-being associated with a) working conditions in general and b) COVID-19-specific predictors such as worries about being infected and conditions for working at home were analyzed employing analysis of (co)variance and multiple regression. Results Conditions at work and well-being were stable overall, even indicating slight improvements, notably for men compared to women. Both an index representing stressors and resources at work in general (Job-Stress Index) and a COVID-19-related demand index showed consistent effects on health. Conclusions COVID-19-specific aspects may impact health indicators differently depending on the work context.

Measuring Work Demands and Resources of Digitalisation: The ICT Resources and Stressors Scale

“…Meanwhile, many changes of work tasks and work conditions have been accompanied by an increase in work-related stress and emotional exhaustion in the last decade (Cianferoni, 2023;Galliker et al, 2022;Galliker et al, 2024;Igic et al, 2017;Krieger & Arial, 2020;Leclerc et al, 2022;Techniker Krankenkasse, 2021;Tritschler et al, 2022). In recent years, stress monitoring studies started to include the use of ICTs in their scope.…”