An Investigation into Occupational Related Stress of At-Risk Workers During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Nearly all workers and industry sectors have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in some form since March 2020. However, the pandemic-related stressors experienced in the workplace may vary from industry to industry and may have disproportionally affected some workers. This study investigates increased stress levels, stressor events, and other perceptions of stress from at-risk workers during COVID-19. METHODS: An in-depth work-related stress survey that incorporated many aspects of work, life, work-life balance, and the health of employer-employee relationships was developed with a focus on COVID-19-related stressors. The cross-sectional survey was distributed online through professional networks from October to November 2021. The survey results were statically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) after grouping the industry sectors into the four groups to determine trends within these groupings. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 670 workers in sectors such as manual labor, business/office service, healthcare, and education. A variety of trends were determined between the occurrence of COVID-19 and work stress which had, in some cases, affected some industry sectors to a larger degree than others. More than 50% of the participants reported experiencing an increased workload since the onset of the pandemic with some sectors, like healthcare, reporting an increased workload more frequently at 80%. Around 55% of respondents believed they could be exposed to COVID-19 in their workplace, ranging from 52% of business/office service workers to 77% of healthcare workers. CONCLUSIONS: As workplaces navigate past the pandemic, occupational stress should be addressed head-on through workplaces providing expanded resources so as to assure work stress associated with future pandemics are mitigated appropriately. Whether the stressor is associated with irregular shift work or psychosocial aspects (i.e. relying on coworkers), many of these stressors have the possibility to become exacerbated by external factors such as pandemics.

Examining the Impact of Stressors during COVID-19 on Emergency Department Healthcare Workers: An International Perspective.

Emergency department healthcare workers are known to face a unique combination of pressures from their careers and work environments regularly. Caring for dying patients and making difficult lifesaving decisions not only continued but also became more prevalent for emergency department healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A growing body of literature revealed that the mental and emotional toll of COVID-19 has been tremendous. However, the burden of COVID-19 on the overall physical health and work-life balance on this group needs to be understood. This study aimed to describe the impact of stress on wellbeing and health across the globe among emergency department healthcare workers. A cross-sectional survey comprising work-family and family-work conflict scale, work-life balance, physical symptoms inventory, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, satisfaction with job and life, and life change index scale was distributed to a convenience sample through listservs and social media. In total, 287 participants responded, 109 completing all questions. Fatigue was the most common symptom reported to occur daily (28.4%, n = 31), followed by muscle pain (13.8%, n = 15) and backache (11.9%, n = 13). Nurse practitioners reported the highest number of physical symptoms and the highest average scores and counts of stressful life events, while registered nurses indicated the highest work-family conflict levels. Linear regressions showed that stressful life events are significantly associated with both physical symptoms and work-family conflict. Results underscore the need to better support emergency department workers to mitigate the risks associated with occupational stress. Protective organizational policies and increased support strategies may be employed to improve wellbeing and cultivate a more sustainable workforce.

Almost a year in: Virtual offices remained an ergonomic trouble spot.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals continued to work from home even after nearly 9 months since the COVID-19 pandemic started in spring of 2020. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a follow-up survey of the faculty and staff of a large Midwest university to determine whether there had been any changes to their home work environment and health outcomes since a prior survey conducted at the start of the pandemic in spring of 2020. METHODS: An electronic survey was sent out to all employees, staff, and administration (approximately 10,350 individuals) and was completed by 1,135 individuals. RESULTS: It was found that not much had changed after nearly 9 months of working at home. Faculty and staff continued to primarily use laptops without an external keyboard, monitor or mouse. Few participants reported using chairs with adjustable armrests. These conditions continued to result in high levels of body discomfort (49% neck and head, 45% low back, and 62% upper back and shoulders having moderate to severe pain). CONCLUSION: If workers are going to continue to work from home, companies will need to accommodate them with more than a laptop, and should include an external keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

Teachers feeling the burden of COVID-19: Impact on well-being, stress, and burnout.

BACKGROUND: Teachers have had to deal with many of the negative aspects of COVID-19 over the past year. The demands associated with the sudden requirement to teach remotely, and later having to manage hybrid (both in person and online) learning may be having adverse effects on the mental and physical health of teachers. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether COVID-19 continued to impact teacher stress, burnout, and well-being a year into the pandemic. METHODS: An online survey was sent out to 5300 teachers in public and private schools, and 703 completed the survey. RESULTS: Stress and burnout continue to be high for teachers, with 72% of teachers feeling very or extremely stressed, and 57% feel very or extremely burned out. Many teachers struggled to have a satisfactory work-family balance (37% never or almost never; 20% only has sometimes). CONCLUSION: School systems must start to deal with the mental and physical health of teachers before a large number of them leave the profession.

An assessment of ergonomic issues in the home offices of university employees sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: As millions of workers have shifted to telework, special accommodations for workers with respect to ergonomics may be required to ensure the workforce remains healthy. METHODS: A survey about home office ergonomics and discomfort was sent to faculty, staff, and administrators by email and was completed by 843 individuals. RESULTS: Over 40%of the participants reported moderate to severe discomfort (severe low/middle back pain, moderate discomfort in eyes/neck/head, and discomfort in the upper back/shoulders). Laptops (always and often) were widely used (85%) with most using the laptop monitor (55%) of all respondents. Further, less than 45%of the seating conditions were reported as having adjustable arm rests. CONCLUSION: As teleworking in makeshift offices becomes more common, the risk of significant discomfort and potentially more serious musculoskeletal disorders may result from poor static postures. Companies may need to accommodate workers by allowing them to take home office chairs, external monitors, keyboards, and mice as laptops are insufficient, ergonomically.

The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the “New Normal”

Millions of workers have been uprooted by COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and been thrown into a ?new normal? of working from home offices. To further complicate things, many individuals were provided with only a laptop and little, if any, education on setting up an ergonomically correct workstation. As a result, many home office?based workers potentially face suboptimal working conditions. Based on 41 home office ergonomic evaluations, most ergonomic concerns related to laptop usage, nonadjustable chairs without armrests, low monitor heights, and hard desk surfaces. If home-based office work continues, people need to understand the ramifications of poor workstation.