Covid 19 Pandemic Assessment of the Employment Status of Home-Based Workers

At the arrival of Covid 19 and under the isolation measures, businessmen have implemented protocols to mitigate the contagion and the advance of the disease. Thus, for activities within the organization that do not require transformation processes and where the employee's physical presence is not required, new forms of work were established, such as the implementation of temporary work from home or permanent teleworking. According to the above, the present research proposal arises, which under a mixed methodology, of a descriptive-transversal type, focuses on the analysis of the different business scenarios from the technical, technological, economic and human variables that allow evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation and adequacy of the aforementioned modalities as a contingency in the face of the Covid 19 pandemic and that in the same way they allow contributing to the economic reactivation processes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Experiences of workers with post-COVID-19 symptoms can signpost suitable workplace accommodations

Purpose>The prevalence and multi-system nature of post-COVID-19 symptoms warrants clearer understanding of their work ability implications within the working age population. An exploratory survey was undertaken to provide empirical evidence of the work-relevant experiences of workers recovering from COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach>A bespoke online survey based on a biopsychosocial framework ran between December 2020 and February 2021. It collected quantitative ratings of work ability and return-to-work status, qualitative responses about return-to-work experiences, obstacles and recommendations, along with views on employer benefits for making accommodations. A sample of 145 UK workers recovering from COVID-19 was recruited via social media, professional networks and industry contacts. Qualitative data was subject to thematic analysis. Participants were mainly from health/social care (50%) and educational settings (14%).Findings>Just over 90% indicated that they had experienced at least some post-COVID-19 symptoms, notably fatigue and cognitive effects. For 55%, symptoms lasted longer than six months. Only 15% had managed a full return-to-work. Of the 88 who provided workability ratings, just 13 and 18% respectively rated their physical and mental workability as good or very good. Difficulties in resuming work were attributed to symptom unpredictability, their interaction with job demands, managing symptoms and demands in parallel, unhelpful attitudes and expectations. Manager and peer support was reported as variable.Originality/value>Workplace health management characterised by flexible long-term collaborative return-to-work planning, supported by more COVID-centric absence policies and organisational cultures, appear pivotal for sustaining the return-to-work of the large segments of the global workforce affected by post-COVID-19 symptoms.

COVID-19 Related Fears of Patients Admitted to a Psychiatric Emergency Department during and Post-Lockdown in Switzerland: Preliminary Findings to Look Ahead for Tailored Preventive Mental Health Strategies.

Background and Objectives: While the impact on mental health of 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) has been extensively documented, little is known about its influence on subjective fears. Here, we investigate the COVID-19 impact and its related restrictions on fears of patients admitted to a psychiatric Emergency Department (ED) during and post-lockdown. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study on 1477 consultations at the psychiatric ED of the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG) was performed using a mixed-methods analysis. The first analysis section was qualitative, aiming to explore the type of fears, while the second section statistically compared fears (i) during lockdown (16 March 2020-10 May 2020) and (ii) post-lockdown (11 May 2020-5 July 2020). Fears were also explored among different patient-age sub-groups. Results: 334 patients expressed one/more fears. Both in lockdown and post-lockdown, fears mostly pertained to "containment measures" (isolation, loneliness). When compared lockdown vs. post-lockdown, fears about "work status" (deteriorating, losing work) prevailed in lockdown (p = 0.029) while "hopelessness" (powerless feeling, inability to find solutions) in post-lockdown (p = 0.001). "Self around COVID-19" (dying, getting sick) fear was relatively more frequent in youth (p = 0.039), while "hopelessness" in the elderly (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Collectively, these findings highlight that lockdown/post-lockdown periods generated temporally and demographically distinct COVID-19 related fears patterns, with special regard to youth and elderly, two particularly vulnerable populations when faced with sudden and unexpected dramatic events. For this reason, the particular ED "front-line service" status makes it a privileged observatory that can provide novel insights. From a mental health perspective, these latter can be translated into pragmatic, more personalized prevention strategies to reinforce specific resilience resources and mitigate the current and long-term pandemic's impact.

Employee work status, mental health, substance use, and career turnover intentions: An examination of restaurant employees during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the restaurant industry and employees in the worst possible way. This empirical study aims to examine the relationships between employees' work status (working, furloughed, or laid-off), mental health (psychological well-being and psychological distress), substance use (drug and alcohol use), and career turnover intentions during the pandemic. Analyzing the responses of 585 restaurant employees using structural equation modelling (SEM), findings revealed that working employees experienced higher levels of psychological distress, drug and alcohol use than furloughed employees. Moreover, psychological distress increased drug and alcohol use, as well as career turnover intentions. Lastly, all employees, regardless of their mental health, increased their substance use and indicated a desire to seek future employment in alternate industries during the pandemic. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed in detail.