Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, mental well-being and self-rated health in German and Swiss employees: a cross-sectional online survey

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 crisis has radically changed the way people live and work. While most studies have focused on prevailing negative consequences, potential positive shifts in everyday life have received less attention. Thus, we examined the actual and perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, and the consequences for mental well-being (MWB), and self-rated health (SRH) in German and Swiss employees. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected via an online questionnaire from 2118 German and Swiss employees recruited through an online panel service (18–65 years, working at least 20 h/week, various occupations). The sample provides a good representation of the working population in both countries. Using logistic regression, we analyzed how sociodemographic factors and self-reported changes in work and private life routines were associated with participants’ perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life. Moreover, we explored how the perceived impact and self-reported changes were associated with MWB and SRH. Results About 30% of employees reported that their work and private life had worsened, whereas about 10% reported improvements in work and 13% in private life. Mandatory short-time work was strongly associated with perceived negative impact on work life, while work from home, particularly if experienced for the first time, was strongly associated with a perceived positive impact on work life. Concerning private life, younger age, living alone, reduction in leisure time, and changes in quantity of caring duties were strongly associated with perceived negative impact. In contrast, living with a partner or family, short-time work, and increases in leisure time and caring duties were associated with perceived positive impact on private life. Perceived negative impact of the crisis on work and private life and mandatory short-time work were associated with lower MWB and SRH. Moreover, perceived positive impact on private life and an increase in leisure time were associated with higher MWB. Conclusion The results of this study show the differential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people’s work and private life as well as the consequences for MWB and SRH. This may inform target groups and situation-specific interventions to ameliorate the crisis.

Changes in Stress, Coping Styles, and Life Satisfaction between the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Study in a Sample of University Students

“…One of the largest sources of stress was an economic crisis due to prolonged lockdown, which increased concerns about future work-finding and financial stability [18,44]. Lee [45] showed that perceived employment and housing insecurity, deteriorating finances, and difficulties in paying for basic needs predicted life satisfaction, happiness, health selfesteem, mental health index, and mental stress among a large sample of European Union citizens.…”

COVID-19, the Built Environment, and Health

“…These impacts may disproportionately affect women (Arntz et al 2020). Evidence during the pandemic showed heterogeneous responses to WFHdecreased stress in some workers, increased stress in others (Aetna International 2020; Moretti et al 2020;Tu sl et al 2021;Weitzer et al 2021). A third health impact of WFH reported during the pandemic was weight gain (Aetna International 2020; Ekpanyaskul and Padungtod 2021); while this may relate to the general decrease in physical activity during the shutdown, it may also reflect the decline in commuting-associated physical activity (Abolanle et al 2020;Raza et al 2020).…”

Impact of Working from Home on Cardiovascular Health: An Emerging Issue with the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The consequence is a greater difficulty in concentrating on work tasks and even a lower productivity. Living alone has also been found to be a factor that exposes workers to a higher risk of psychological stress due to the greater feel of social isolation while working from home [38]. Of note, a study that evaluated the effects of working from home and working at the office among academic staff found greater parasympathetic activity, assessed by measuring heart rate variability, during working-from-home days [39].…”

“…Once the negative lifestyle changes associated with working from home that are heightened with lockdown have been identified, it is fundamental to prevent these unhealthy behavior changes in workers transitioning to working from home. It is noteworthy that some positive effects of working from home have been reported, such as increased productivity [31], improved mental well-being due to increased leisure time [38], greater level of flexibility in time management [65] which enables workers to better control and schedule their daily activities, more relaxation [39,65], and the reduced need to commute [24,65]. Furthermore, it should also be taken into account that the impact on mental well-being may depend on the frequency of working from home [66] and on whether it is mandatory or optional.…”