Employee mental well‐being amidst Covid‐19: Major stressors and distress

Abstract

The world is countering unprecedented health catastrophe but this is not the first instance. Before COVID-19, another cholera pandemic and the "Spanish Flu" desolated the world in the early piece of the twentieth century. Therefore, while there have been episodes of Asian influenza, SARS, MERS, Ebola, and so on, the pandemic of COVID-19 is on an extraordinary scale. It has shaken the whole world and made worldwide frenzy. The remedial measures like social distancing and lockdown have totally disturbed our routine life activities. Household work and rigorous and timeless work from home have made life more complicated physically as well as mentally stressful.

Cross-National Study of Mental Health and Employment Status Nine Months Post Social Distancing Implementation Practices

“…The government in the UK imposed more restrictions related to social distancing and 'lockdowns' for longer periods than did respondents from the USA, even though the infection and death rates from COVID-19 were high in both countries. Prolonged social isolation in the UK seems to be associated with higher levels of mental distress and this finding is consistent with earlier studies (Godinc et al, 2020;Saxena and Gautam, 2020).…”

“…On most measures of mental health, employed respondents from all four countries reported less mental health distress, higher levels of PSW and lower levels of overall loneliness, emotional loneliness and social loneliness than the respondents who were not employed. This finding is consistent with findings from early COVID-19 studies (Saxena and Gautam, 2020;Ruffolo et al, 2021).…”

“…The emergence of theCorona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought unprecedented efforts in many countries to implement social distancing practices that over time are creating changes to how people engage with others and carry out the usual day-to-day activities. For example, some of the changes happened in work practices and social networking opportunities for individuals (Mathur, 2020;Saxena and Gautam, 2020). These social distancing practices resulted in workers self-isolating when experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, closure of 'nonessential' workplaces, closure of day-cares, schools and universities and bans on large gatherings (WHO, 2020).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic impacts employed and non-employed individuals in unique ways. Feelings of mental distress have been reported due to isolation and fear of economic security (Saxena and Gautam, 2020;Siddiquei and Khan, 2020). Earlier studies have found that for non-employed individuals, changes in financial stability and falling into financial debt increase social isolation, depression and anxiety (Godinic, Obrenovic and Khudaykulov, 2020).…”

Prevalence and health correlates of Onine Fatigue: A cross-sectional study on the Italian academic community during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Since there were no face-to-face interactions with their boss and colleagues, employees felt frustrated and disappointed and struggles with managing and coordinating work teams [ 12 ]. Overall, employees needed to complete their tasks along with the additional responsibilities they have in their house and uncertainties, which have blurred the fine line between work life and personal life [ 13 ]. All these risks may then generate additional emotional discomfort, increase work injuries, and even encourage counter-productive behaviors such as absenteeism [ 14 ].…”