Lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic: who are the most affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in work and lifestyle, impacting occupational mental health. This study examines the time and individual heterogeneity in the pandemic's effects on occupational mental health using panel data from job stress checks spanning 2018 to 2021. On average, there was an initial alleviation of high-stress risk in 2020, followed by a deterioration in 2021. Based on the job demand-resource theory, we identify the group of employees most affected by the pandemic. The findings highlight that employees in unfavorable workplace conditions are more likely to experience substantial adverse impacts. Adequate workplace support, including factors like interpersonal relationships, managerial support, job meaning, control, and work-life balance, is crucial for mitigating high-stress risk. Additionally, during the early phase of the pandemic, engaged employees experienced a slight decline in occupational mental health, while those lacking job resources at their worksite faced higher levels of occupational stress in the subsequent year. These findings offer practical suggestions for person-centered coping strategies to mitigate the pandemic's adverse impact.

Occupational stress of physicians and nurses in emergency departments after contracting COVID-19 and its influencing factors: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Occupational stress is one of the major occupational health hazards globally. This study investigated the current situation of and factors influencing the occupational stress of physicians and nurses in emergency departments (EDs) after contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among physicians and nurses in EDs in China between January 5 and 8, 2023. A general descriptive analysis of variables was conducted, the differences in the occupational stress of physicians and nurses in EDs with different characteristics were analyzed using the chi-square test, and factors influencing occupational stress were investigated using generalized ordinal logistic regression. Results: Of the 1924 physicians and nurses in EDs who contracted COVID-19, 64.71% considered their occupational stress high or very high, with overly intense work as the primary stressor. Those with ≥ 10 years of work tenure, working in tertiary hospitals and with higher professional titles were more stressed, while females, nurses, those with a master's degree or higher, and those who continued to work after contracting COVID-19 were less stressed. There were differences in the predictors of occupational stress between physicians and nurses. Conclusion: China's physicians and nurses in EDs had high occupational stress after contracting COVID-19. Attention should be given to the occupational mental health of physicians and nurses in EDs, and training on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection should be strengthened.

An Agenda for Advancing Research and Prevention at the Nexus of Work Organization, Occupational Stress, and Mental Health and Well-Being.

Work characteristics and worker well-being are inextricably connected. In particular, the characteristics of work organization shape and perpetuate occupational stress, which contributes to worker mental health and well-being outcomes. Consequently, the importance of understanding and addressing connections between work organization, occupational stress, and mental health and well-being-the focus of this Special Issue-increasingly demand attention from those affected by these issues. Thus, focusing on these issues in the long-haul truck driver (LHTD) sector as an illustrative example, the purpose of this commentary is as follows: (1) to outline current research approaches and the extant knowledge base regarding the connections between work organization, occupational stress, and mental health; (2) to provide an overview of current intervention strategies and public policy solutions associated with the current knowledge base to protect and promote worker mental health and well-being; and (3) to propose a two-pronged agenda for advancing research and prevention for workers during the 21st century. It is anticipated that this commentary, and this Special Issue more broadly, will both echo numerous other calls for building knowledge and engaging in this area and motivate further research within complementary current and novel research frameworks.

An assessment of organizational well-being, organizational health, and work-related stress: A cross-sectional study of nurses involved with COVID-19 interventions.

BACKGROUND: Nurses have been affected by stress, developing many related consequences during the health emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is essential for healthcare organizations to protect their human resources because there is a strong correlation between the health status of healthcare workers and the quality of care provided. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to measure the perception of the organizational health level of the workplace among COVID-19 nurses (i.e. nurses who directly dealt with COVID-19 countermeasures) as an influence on work quality and work-related stress. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out by administering the Nursing Questionnaire on Organizational Health (QISO) to nurses in contact with COVID-19 patients. The search period ranged between August and September 2021 with nurses who work and/or worked in Lazio. RESULTS: 123 questionnaires were collected. The scores with a value below the recommended level (2,6) are: "Comfort of the working environment" (mean = 2.57; SD = 0.66); "Valorization of skills" (mean = 2.40; SD = 0.62); "Openness to innovation" (mean = 2.46; SD = 0.77); "Satisfaction with top management" (mean = 2.48; SD = 0.81); and the inverse scale "Fatigue" (mean = 2.94; SD = 0.55). CONCLUSION: Management of healthcare organizations should define action strategies to promote and increase organizational well-being and reduce work-related stress risk factors. Some action strategies that could be used include improving the elements of the work environment to make it more comfortable for workers; strengthening and improving communication; improving the relationship between nurses and senior management; and establishing a team of experts for psychological assistance.

Workplace Bullying and Violence on Burnout Among Bangladeshi Registered Nurses: A Survey Following a Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: To investigate burnout among Bangladeshi nurses and the factors that influence it, particularly the association of workplace bullying (WPB) and workplace violence (WPV) with burnout. Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data from 1,264 Bangladeshi nurses. Mixed-effects Poisson regression models were fitted to find the adjusted association between WPB, WPV, and burnout. Results: Burnout was found to be prevalent in 54.19% of 1,264 nurses. 61.79% of nurses reported that they had been bullied, and 16.3% of nurses reported experience of "intermediate and high" levels of workplace violence in the previous year. Nurses who were exposed to "high risk bullying" (RR = 2.29, CI: 1.53-3.41) and "targeted bullying" (RR = 4.86, CI: 3.32-7.11) had a higher risk of burnout than those who were not. Similarly, WPV exposed groups at "intermediate and high" levels had a higher risk of burnout (RR = 3.65, CI: 2.40-5.56) than WPV non-exposed groups. Conclusion: Nurses' burnout could be decreased if issues like violence and bullying were addressed in the workplace. Hospital administrators, policymakers, and the government must all promote and implement an acceptable working environment.

Job insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and counterproductive work behavior: The sequential mediation effects of job stress and organizational identification and the buffering role of corporate social responsibility.

Swift social and economic environmental changes such as those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to decreased job security. Although numerous previous studies have examined the influence of job insecurity on employee perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors, the link between job insecurity and negative behavior and its underlying or intermediating mechanisms remain underexplored. The significance of an organization's positive behaviors, which fall under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility (CSR), also deserves more attention. To address these gaps, we examined both the mediator and the moderator in the association between job insecurity and negative employee behavior by establishing a moderated sequential mediation model. We hypothesized that the levels of employee job stress and organizational identification sequentially mediate the relationship between job insecurity and counterproductive work behavior as a representative negative behavior. We also hypothesized that CSR activities play a buffering role that moderates the influence of job insecurity on job stress. We used three-wave time-lagged data collected from 348 employees in South Korean organizations to demonstrate that job stress and organizational identification sequentially mediate the relationship between job insecurity and counterproductive work behavior, and that CSR activities function as a buffering factor that decreases the influence of job insecurity on job stress. The results of this research suggest that the levels of job stress and organizational identification (as sequential mediators) as well as CSR activities (as a moderator) are underlying mechanisms in the link between job insecurity and counterproductive work behavior.

Determining the effect of selected mental factors on turnover intention through two modulators - stress and resilience over COVID-19 period.

INTRODUCTION: Turnover intention among nurses has risen in an alarming rate since the onset of the pandemic. There are various underlying factors to turnover intention. The present study aims to determine the effect of a number of mental factors on nurses' professional-turnover intention through two modulators of stress and resilience over COVID-19 period. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study was conducted at three hospitals in Khuzestan Province, southern Iran, during the winter of 2021. To collect the data, given the restrictions in place during COVID-19 period, the web link of electronic self-reported questionnaires (including general health, mental workload, work-family conflict, resilience, job stress, corona fear, and turnover intention) were sent to 350 nurses through e-mail and other social media (WhatsApp and Telegram). Accordingly, they were asked to complete the questionnaire during rest periods within two weeks. Totally, 300 people (85% participation) filled out the questionnaires. Finally, a model was constructed in the Amos software. RESULTS: The results showed that the four independent parameters of decreasing general health, increasing mental workload, increasing WFCs and fear of COVID-19 can indirectly increase nurses' turnover intention by increasing job stress. Among these variables, the highest indirect effect coefficient on turnover intention was related to the general health parameter (-0.141). The results also demonstrated a negative correlation between job stress and resilience, with lower resilience raising job stress and, consequently, increasing intention to quit the job. CONCLUSION: Mental factors affecting turnover intension were identified in this study through path analysis. Therefore, it is recommended that the required resilience-enhancing measures to be taken by hospitals and nursing administrations to reduce psychological pressures caused by mentioned variables with the aim of minimizing job-related stress and fostering nurse retention.

Analysis of the sense of occupational stress and burnout syndrome among physiotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nature of physiotherapists' work involves an increased risk of occupational stress and burnout, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyse the level of perceived generalised stress, the occupational stress and the occupational burnout syndrome among physiotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred seventy professionally active physiotherapists participated in the study: 100-during the pandemic and 70 before the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was carried out using the authors' survey, the Subjective Work Assessment Questionnaire (SWAQ), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Mini-COPE) inventory. The physiotherapists examined prior to the pandemic exhibited a higher level of generalised stress and higher level of occupational stress and occupational burnout (p = 0.0342; p < 0.00001; p < 0.00001, respectively). The key factors which caused intensified occupational stress in both groups included the lack of rewards at work, social interaction, and the lack of support. The results suggest that healthcare professionals including physiotherapists are exposed to occupational stress and a high risk of occupational burnout, not only during the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational stress prevention programmes should be based on the identification and elimination of all occupational risks.

Steps toward a resilient future nurse workforce.

INTRODUCTION: The psychosocial needs of nursing students are a pressing matter as mental health disorders may affect nursing students' journeys as professional nurses. LITERATURE REVIEW: Psychological distress and burnout in nurses are threats to worldwide health care, as the stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to an unstable future global nurse workforce. DISCUSSION: Resiliency training can positively impact nurse stress, mindfulness, and resilience, as resilient nurses are better able to manage their response to stress and adversity which will contribute to positive patient outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE: Educating faculty on resilience will aid nurse educators to create new student instructional approaches to improve mental health wellness. CONCLUSIONS: Supportive faculty behaviors, self-care techniques, and resilience-building infused throughout the nursing curriculum may promote the effective transitioning of students into practice, providing the necessary foundation for improving workplace stress management and increasing longevity and satisfaction in the profession.

Nurses' resilience in the face of coronavirus (COVID-19): An international view.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine factors associated with nurses' resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the latter half of 2020 from 904 nurses across Japan, Republic of Korea, Republic of Turkey, and the United States. The questionnaire included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10, plus demographics and 20 questions about practice environment, workplace safety concerning infection control, COVID-related experience, and organizational support. Fear of becoming infected, intention to leave nursing, and having had a positive COVID-19 test were inversely associated with resilience (p < 0.05). Regression analysis indicated that U.S. nurses had significantly greater resilience than nurses in the other countries examined (p < 0.001). Nurses reporting organization support and those who participated in policy and procedure development had higher resilience scores (p < 0.01). Organizational support, involving nurses in policy development, and country of practice were found to be important resilience factors in our research, which aligns with other findings. Further research is recommended to determine the optimal practice environment to support nurse resilience.

Influencing factors of work stress of medical workers in clinical laboratory during COVID-19 pandemic: Working hours, compensatory leave, job satisfaction.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented threats and challenges to global public health. Hospital Clinical Laboratory and public health institutions have been playing an important role in case detection, epidemic research and decision-making, and epidemic prevention and control. Objective: To explore the current situation and influencing factors of work stress of medical workers in hospital clinical laboratory in fighting against COVID-19. Methods: A cluster random sampling method was used to select seven hospitals from 14 tertiary hospitals in Xiamen, and medical workers in the selected hospitals were investigated by self-administered questionnaire. A total of 150 medical workers inclinical laboratory participated in this survey, 138 valid questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 92%. Results: The work stress scores of the medical workers in the clinical laboratory of hospital in the COVID-19 epidemic were collected (55.22 ± 11.48); The top three dimensions of work stress score were work stress (work load), external environment and doctor-patient relationship. The results of multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the working hours per day, whether overtime and night shift can get compensatory leave and Job satisfaction with the work of the clinical laboratory were the main factors affecting the work stress level of medical workers in the clinical laboratory of hospital during COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion: The COVID-19 has caused great harm to the physical and mental health of the public. Medical staff are in the front line of prevention and control of the epidemic, so medical workers in hospital clinical laboratory exposed to a high level of stress at work. Laboratory leaders and hospital managers should take active and effective measures to reduce the working hours of the medical staff in clinical laboratory, optimize the arrangement of night shift and overtime working, strengthen the training of group and individual pressure management, reduce the work stress of the medical staff, improve the overall happiness of the medical staff in clinical laboratory, and stabilize the clinical laboratory team, improve the physical and mental health of medical workers in clinical laboratory.

Exploring the Effect of Emotional Labor on Turnover Intention and the Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support: Evidence from Korean Firefighters.

Synthesizing the conservation of resource theory, proximal withdrawal state theory, and job demands-resources theory, the present study examined the relationships between two dimensions of emotional labor (i.e., surface and deep acting) and turnover intention, as well as the moderating role of perceived organizational support in these relationships, such as the context of Korean firefighters. Using survey data drawn from fire organizations in Gyeonggi-do, the largest province of South Korea, we found that both surface and deep acting are positively related to firefighter turnover intentions. Further analysis indicates that the perceived organizational support of firefighters, vital for public health and safety, attenuates the positive relationship between surface acting and turnover intention but has no significant moderating effect on the relationship between deep acting and turnover intention. Our results suggest that perceived organizational support acts through essential psychological resources to recover the loss of emotional resources and contributes to the retention of firefighter personnel who primarily perform challenging and stressful work, including firefighting and offering emergency medical services. Thus, this study examines a crucial tool to ensure firefighters' public mental health.

Quality of work-life and coping strategies of nurse educators and clinicians in COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

The study compared perceived differences in Quality of Work-Life (QoWL) among nurse clinicians and educators and coping strategies used by nurses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: From August and November 2020, the study measured the QoWL and coping strategies of 360 nurses with two scales using a multi-stage sampling technique. The data were analysed with descriptive, Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Quality of Work-Life was generally low among nurses; nurse educators, however, had better QoWL than clinical nurses. Age, salary and nature of work predicted the QoWL of nurses. Work-family segmentation, seeking assistance, open communication and recreational activities were employed by most nurses to cope with challenges. With the rate of workload and work-related stress associated with COVID-19, nurse leaders must advocate for evidence-based coping strategies to deal with work and family life stress.

Professional quality of life and occupational stress in nursing workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the levels of professional quality of life and the occupational stress in nursing professionals. METHOD: Cross sectional study conducted between April and August 2020, with nursing professionals working in inpatient units for clinical and surgical patients of a large hospital. The Work Stress Scale and the Professional Quality of Life Scale were applied. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 150 professionals, with a mean age of 43 ± 8.89 years, being 84.7% (127) female. The mean of the work stress scale was 1.9 (± 0.71), a moderate level of stress. It was found that compassion satisfaction had a median of 50.3 (9.1 - 64.6), burnout of 48.5 (32.2 - 84.8) and post-traumatic stress disorder of 47.1 (38.6 - 98.3). CONCLUSION: Stress at work and Compassion Fatigue were identified in the sample, especially in secondary-level professionals, demonstrating the need to implement strategies to reduce psycho-emotional harm in these professionals.

Pandemic management impacts Slovak health care workers' quality of life during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to accepting a lot of various protective pandemic management-related measures (PanMan), which may have had a large impact on health care workers (HCWs) but evidence is scarce. We therefore explored the impact of measures during the second wave. We assessed the associations of PanMan with the Quality of Life (QoL) of hospital HCWs. METHODS: We collected data from 215 HCWs (77.7% females, mean age 44.4), who were working at the COVID-related departments of one large hospital in eastern Slovakia via a questionnaire, specifically developed in direct collaboration with them. We assessed PanMan related factors, such as COVID-19 experience, information overload, non-adherence of the public, work stress, barriers and facilitators of health care provision, and QoL related factors, such as impact on family life and activities, housekeeping, relationships with relatives and mental well-being. To analyse the data, we used logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender. RESULTS: PanMan greatly impacted the QoL of HCWs, in particular family life, housekeeping and mental well-being (odds ratio, 6.8-2.2). The most influential PanMan factors were COVID-19 experience (3.6-2.3), work stress (4.1-2.4) and barriers in health care provision (6.8-2.2). Perceiving work stress had a negative impact on all QoL domains, even on relationships with the greatest impact. Conversely, the PanMan factors reducing the negative impact on QoL were training and colleagues' support (0.4-0.1). CONCLUSION: PanMan had a strong negative impact on the QoL of hospital HCWs during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women and working in healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil: bullying of colleagues.

BACKGROUND: Based on a feminist approach, we analyzed the experiences of workplace bullying suffered by women front-line healthcare professionals dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. We start from studies that show that women make up 70% of the global health workforce, 85% in the area of nursing, and 90% in the case of social care workers. An unequivocal need thus exists to address gender issues regarding the composition of the labor force in the health area. The pandemic has aggravated recurring problems involving healthcare professionals at the various caregiving levels, such as mental harassment (bullying) and its effects on mental health. METHODS: Data were gathered from an online survey of a convenience (non-probability) sample composed of 1,430 volunteer respondents, all women that work in the public health system in Brazil. The analyses and discussions involved the responses to a questionnaire containing 12 closed-ended questions and one open-ended question. RESULTS: The results revealed a context of workplace bullying aggravated by precarious material, institutional and organizational conditions in the area of health services against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. This context has variously led to aggression, isolation, heavy workloads, and invasion of privacy, humiliation, persecution and fear as it was possible to see, mainly, in the answers to the study's open-ended question. This situation degrades both work relations and the integrity of the healthcare professionals who work on the front line to treat Covid-19 cases. CONCLUSION: We conclude that bullying is a psychosocial phenomenon that heightens the oppression and subordination still experienced by women in the contemporary context, but with new hues in a scenario of frontline response to Covid-19.

The Effects of Workplace Stressors on Dietary Patterns among Workers at a Private Hospital in Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil: A Longitudinal Study before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Working in a hospital environment is known for presenting unhealthy features that affect the workers' health-features which have currently been intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, this longitudinal study aimed to ascertain the level of job stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, how this changed, and its association with the dietary patterns of hospital workers. Data on sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, health, anthropometric, dietetic, and occupational stress were collected before and during the pandemic from 218 workers at a private hospital in the Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil. McNemar's chi-square test was used for comparison purposes, Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify dietary patterns, and Generalized Estimating Equations to evaluate the interested associations. During the pandemic, participants reported increased occupational stress, shift work, and weekly workloads, compared with before the pandemic. Additionally, three dietary patterns were identified before and during the pandemic. No association was observed between changes in occupational stress and dietary pattens. However, COVID-19 infection was related to changes in pattern A (0.647, IC95%0.044;1.241, p = 0.036) and the amount of shift work related to changes in pattern B, (0.612, IC95%0.016;1.207, p = 0.044). These findings support calls to strengthen labour policies to ensure adequate working conditions for hospital workers in the pandemic context.