The COVID-19 pandemic and associated societal restrictions such as lockdowns and movement limitations, have impacted many areas in society as well as aspects of individual’s work and private life. People have been affected in disparate ways, due to occupation, socioeconomic situation and other variables. For example, depending on the requirements for physical presence at work, and real-life interpersonal contact, contra possibilities to telework, people have experienced different types of changes in their day-to-day lives.
Furthermore, age groups with young children at home may have experienced a greater burden in private life during the ongoing pandemic. A policy brief of the United Nations warned last year that “the long-term impact of the crisis on people’s mental health and in turn the mental health impact on society should not be overlooked.” Given concerns around this sensitive issue, the World Health Organization alerted in October 2020, that mental health should be considered as “an integral component of the COVID-19 response.”
How have different groups in society been affected? Which changes have occurred during the pandemic, in and outside of work, and in terms of health and well-being? To address these questions, a study was conducted by a team of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University, a UNAI member institution in Sweden, where changes in working conditions, lifestyle factors, and self-reported mental and general health were investigated before and after the onset of the first wave of the pandemic and associated restrictions in Sweden.
The research team is composed of Cecilia Stenfors (project leader), Linda Magnusson Hanson, Constanze Leineweber and Hugo Westerlund. The study was conducted on working adults and changes were studied within different occupational groups with greater versus lesser chances for physical distancing at work, including occupations with good opportunities for teleworking, major groups of contact professions requiring physical contact with people, versus occupations in goods production, material manufacturing, processes, among others.
Worth to be noted that health improvements were seen among professions with a high potential to telework, who experienced reduced symptoms of exhaustion and cognitive stress (e.g. concentration problems), increased recuperation and general health. A significant exception though, was the increase -greater in those with ages below 40 years- in depressive symptoms which was prominent in this group, and among compulsory school and child care professions. In some groups, no or few health improvements were seen whatsoever.
On the positive side, people across occupational groups generally experienced more work-private life balance, with less conflicts between work and their private life, and positive cross-fertilization between private life and work. This however was not the case for people in compulsory school and childcare occupations, nor in the age group under 40 years who spent more time on children's activities during the pandemic. General decreases were seen across occupations in workload, but also in the recognition and reward one gets at work.
None of these changes were seen among compulsory school and childcare occupations—a group which generally have not been teleworking but had to quickly implement new strategies to limit transmission of the virus at school and child care facilities. Further on the negative side, general increases were seen in job insecurity and threats to the employment, as well as in emotional strain, especially in relation to clients and/or customers. This in addition, to frontline professionals who experienced an increased risk of infection at work.
Regarding life style factors, several groups reported changes in how much time they spent on different tasks and activities during the pandemic. Increased time for rest and relaxation was a general theme. Professions with teleworking potential and higher socioeconomic status groups spent more time on household and maintenance work, as well as physical activity, and less time on travelling to and from work. The age group below 40 spent more time looking after children, while older age groups spent less time on such activities.
Ongoing research investigates the living environment, access to and use of nature spaces and its significance for resilience and health in different groups during the pandemic (lead by Cecilia Stenfors). Early findings show that those with more 'greenness' around their homes had better mental health and well-being, and use of large nature areas increased—further underscoring the importance of such spaces, especially during a pandemic when many health supporting social and physical activities have moved outdoors.
Research is also planned on organizational changes, redundancies, dismissals and furlough for social situations, mental health and sickness absence in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis (lead by Linda Magnusson Hanson), how work-life balance, job quality and health are affected by teleworking (lead by Paraskevi Peristera), and how being “locked in” in an undesired work or occupation affects sick-leave over time, how this has developed in different sectors during the pandemic, and the role of social work stressors (lead by Johanna Stengård).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis like no other in our lifetimes. The scale of the impact on people’s mental health is only now becoming clear. It could have serious implications for many years to come,” said the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in a video message. As the study shown here demonstrates, impact on mental health is diverse and needs further analysis. More in-depth review of how this global crisis is affecting peoples’ lives is required and in this regard, the role of universities is critical.