ABSTRACT
Introduction: Working from home (WFH) has been endorsed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic for all cadre of workers. This study aimed to describe the mental and physical negative effects of WFH among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A rapid systematic review of literature was conducted on PubMed/Medline using pre-defined se-arch terms. For inclusion in this rapid review, studies were required to focus only on previously healthy adults, white collar/professional employees, and teachers (full-time or part-time) working from home during working hours, and to include mental or physical health related outcomes of workers. Data extraction was carried out using a standardized form and included country of study, study design, details of participants, industry setting, measure used, and health outcome of interest. Overall, 1,447 articles were retrieved, and 15 of these were included in the systematic review. Results: Physical effects of WFH included reduced physical activity, increased consumption of junk food, weight gain, poor sleep quality, and musculoskeletal pain. Mental effects of WFH included increased levels of anxiety, depression, stress, headache, fatigue, and lower job satisfaction. Furthermore, a significant decline in workplace comfort resulted in a reduction in workers’ efficiency and job satisfaction. Discussion and Conclusions: Due to the rapid stay-at-home recommendations required to break the chain of COVID-19 pandemic, WFH became pertinent for many categories of workers. Therefore, it is required that everyone identifies context-based strategies for healthy coping in ways that do not alter work functioning. © 2021 Francesco Chirico et al. Edizioni FS Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Since the early months of the COVID-19 epidemic, a large number of scientific papers have considered the possibility that healthcare professionals (HCWs) were affected by depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and psychological distress. The abundance of research has also made it possible to produce several systematic reviews and meta-analyzes. All the studies retrieved in these reviews, however, were cross-sectional. Depressive symptoms and anxiety in HCWs were compared to “normal values”, administrative staff, or external sample;moreover, some studies had no control group. No longitudinal study has been produced so far. Some studies had negative results. Overall, there is still little evidence of an increase in mental health problems and sleep disturbances in HCWs during the outbreak. To fill this gap, we investigated the mental health of workers who have been monitored for many years in an Italian local health unit. Mental health was investigated with standardized questionnaires. 82 HCWs who tested positive at the COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab, 152 exposed workers who tested negative and 361 unexposed controls participated in the survey. Anxiety was reported by 16.6% of COVID-19 cases and depression by 20.3%, with a significant increase in the estimated risk (OR = 4.3;CI95%=2.4-7.4 for anxiety, OR = 3.5;CI95% =2.0-6.0 for depression). In test-positive cases, sleep was a significant moderating factor in the relationship between occupational stress or PJ and anxiety. Exposed, negative HCWS also had an increased OR for anxiety (1.84, CI95% 1.1-3.1) and depression (2.2 CI95% 1.4-3.5). The frequency of anxiety and depression disorders in the population examined was not higher than that recorded in the years preceding the epidemic during periodic occupational health checks in the workplace. Mental health support and organizational interventions must mainly concern workers with positive tests and should also tend to improve sleep quality. Key messages Health care workers who have had unprotected exposure to COVID-19 patients, and even more those who have contracted the infection, have sleep problems, anxiety and depression. The psychological support intervention for health care workers should include the promotion of sleep hygiene.