Impact of Covid-19 in Global Health and Psychosocial Risks at Work

Abstract

Objective: The main objective is to understand and characterize the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health and psychosocial risks at work in professionally active adults. Methods: This specific work includes 4708 professionally active participants from all over the country, of which 3354 are women (71.2%), aged between 19 and 86 years, with an average age of 45.8 years (SD = 12.56). Results: The global impact of Covid-19 is explained by socio-demographic factors (sex, age, and education), by work-related and volume of work and health that is reflected in most symptoms. We found sex, age, education level, and professional area differences related to global impact of Covid-19. Conclusion: The Covid-19 pandemic accounts for the challenge to identify the important factors to promote resilience of citizens, professionals, and organizations.

Psychosocial risks factors among victim support workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a study with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire

“…Thus, VSW over 36 years old scored more in job insecurity, burnout, and offensive behaviour. These results are contrary to what was observed in the aforementioned Portuguese study developed by Gaspar et al [ 6 ], in which younger professionals, i.e., 35 years or less, present more PSR of work, greater impact of COVID-19 on work intensity, and negative evolution of health symptoms. Considering the characteristics of the sample in the present study, which is mostly comprised of women, it can be hypothesized that this could be a group of women with school-age children requiring greater support during the COVID-19 pandemic period and, consequently, experiencing greater difficulty in balancing job functions and family life [ 30 ].…”

“…After the first lockdown, 44.9% of VSW advanced to mixed work, maintaining exposure to the aforementioned risks. Indeed, a Portuguese study developed by Gaspar et al [ 6 ] to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on global health and PSR at work concluded by the greatest PSR at work, namely the bulk of the responsibility, intellectual effort, multitasking, and overall stress. The association of these risks to work tasks, emotional and cognitive demands, health, and well-being enhances the vulnerability of workers and their greater difficulty in managing the personal and professional challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Furthermore, mental health was affected in the general public when compared to before the pandemic outbreak [ 31 ]. A worsening of certain health symptoms (e.g., insomnia, depression, anxiety, burnout, headaches and fatigue), an increase in risk behaviors related to lifestyles (e.g., sleeping habits, physical activity, food, screen time, consumption among others) or changes related to family and work (e.g., associated with confinement and teleworking) were verified with COVID-19 [ 6 ]. In the particular case of the VSW, their exposure to victims with traumatic experiences constitutes an increased risk for developing other psychological problems considering the difficulties of their tasks [ 8 , 9 ], which include vicarious trauma, burnout [ 10 ], or even PTSD [ 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Finally, in the present study, it was not possible to carry out analyses based on the gender of the participants. Considering the evidence that men and women experience different types of trauma or the possibility of gender-specific expressions of emotional distress (e.g., 29 ), the impact of COVD-19 on gender inequality [ 33 ] as well the gender differences in PSR found in the general Portuguese population [ 6 ], further studies should thus seek to explore the gender differences involved. Longitudinal designs that allow a deeper understanding of the PSR factors are also necessary in this context.…”

“…The Portuguese research focused on PSR factors is scarce. The few existing studies are focused on the workers' health [e.g., 21 , 22 ], active adults, i.e., the general population, COVID-19 professionals involved, or COVID-19 affected professionals, including psychologists [ 6 ]. Many of them aimed only to analyse the psychometric characteristics of the COPSOQ [e.g., 23 , 24 ].…”