Home working and its association with social and mental wellbeing at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from seven UK longitudinal population surveys

Abstract

Background: Home working rates have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, but the health implications of this transformation are unclear. We assessed the association between home working and social and mental wellbeing through harmonised analyses of seven UK longitudinal studies. Methods: We estimated associations between home working and measures of psychological distress, low life satisfaction, poor self-rated health, low social contact, and loneliness across three different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (T1= Apr-Jun 2020 - first lockdown, T2=Jul-Oct 2020 - eased restrictions, T3=Nov 2020-Mar 2021 - second lockdown), in seven population-based cohort studies using modified Poisson regression and meta-analyses to pool results across studies. Findings: Among 34,131 observations spread over three time points, we found higher rates of home working at T1 and T3 compared with T2, reflecting lockdown periods. Home working was not associated with psychological distress at T1 (RR=0.92, 95%CI=0.79-1.08) or T2 (RR=0.99, 95%CI=0.88-1.11), but a detrimental association was found with psychological distress at T3 (RR=1.17, 95%CI=1.05-1.30). Poorer psychological distress associated with home working was observed for those educated to below degree level at T2 and T3. Men working from home reported poorer self-reported health at T2. Interpretation: No clear evidence of an association between home working and mental wellbeing was found, apart from greater risk of psychological distress associated with home working during the second lockdown, but differences across sub-groups may exist. Longer term shifts to home working might not have adverse impacts on population wellbeing in the absence of pandemic restrictions but further monitoring of health inequalities is required.

Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…This study also focuses on the difference between pre-pandemic and pandemic time periods. Whilst the relationship between changes in employment settings and workers' health has been largely documented throughout the pandemic 12,[42][43][44] , we do not know any quantitative research published on the possible role of tr unions in providing cushioning to the deterioration of workers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of qualitative studies on this matter remains low, mostly theoretical and address the mechanisms of protection without estimating their prevalence for the entire workforce 45 . This study has limitations, which can open the way for further research on collective negotiation and workers' health.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic was a period of high economic disruption, restrictions and changes in employment settings and practices occurred, including an abrupt increase in home working 11–13 and the use of temporary unemployment schemes (furlough) 14 that had important effect on population health, and particularly mental health 15 . Whilst the relationship between change in employment status and work pattern and workers’ mental health have been documented throughout this period 14,16 , less is known about the way workplace characteristics – and, particularly, trade union presence – may have affected mental health. Trade unions played a crucial role during such a period, advocating for worker safety, protection of jobs, and fair compensation for those affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic 17,18 .…”

Teleworking and health in an epidemic context: contrasting the infectious and non-communicable diseases perspectives

“…For the Edington risk score (a summary score accounting for several risk factors), we observed an L-shaped (LS) relationship with increased telework intensity, with an initial rapid decrease in risk at low telework frequencies followed by a more stable relationship at higher frequencies. (33). Confounding factors (such as the region, pre-existing comorbidities or professional status) are not well described or controlled for, and differ across studies.…”

“…For example, Henke and colleagues found a broadly decreasing relationship between hours/month of telecommuting and depression, while Chen and colleagues found a U-shaped relationship. This conflicting evidence may be due to modifying effects as demonstrated by one study according to which organisational factors within a company could alter the shape/direction of the relationship, depending on the COVID-19 wave (33).…”

Reimagining the journey to recovery: The COVID-19 pandemic and global mental health

“…This highlights that, while we can anticipate certain factors that will be triggers for worsening prevalence of mental illness, we have to remain alert during pandemics to their constantly changing nature and the extraordinary circumstances they give rise to in designing responsive context-specific public policies [ 9 ]. Reassuringly, there seemed to be no sustained ill-effects of working from home, at least in a specific high-income context, though there might be subgroup variations [ 19 ]. Third, the increased burden of common mental health problems was inequitably distributed, particularly affecting women, young people, and low-income groups, exposing and widening fault lines that exist in the foundations of our societies [ 8 , 10 , 11 , 18 ].…”