Publication type: Conference other
Type of review: Peer review (abstract)
Title: No evidence for an effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions in office workers
Authors: Aegerter, Andrea
Deforth, Manja
Johnston, Venerina
Sjøgaard, Gisela
Luomajoki, Hannu
Volken, Thomas
Distler, Oliver
Dressel, Holger
Melloh, Markus
Elfering, Achim
et. al: No
DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715
Published in: European Journal of Public Health
Volume(Issue): 31
Issue: Supplement_3
Page(s): ckab164.715
Conference details: 14th European Public Health Conference, online, 10-12 November 2021
Issue Date: 12-Nov-2021
ISSN: 1101-1262
1464-360X
Language: English
Subjects: Job Stress Index; Shutdown; Resources
Subject (DDC): 158: Applied psychology
Abstract: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced around 50 % of employees of Switzerland into a working from home setting during March and April 2020. Working from home appears to change the work experience of office workers considerably. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions. Methods: We based this longitudinal analysis on control group data from an ongoing stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. Office workers from two Swiss organizations, aged 18-65 years, were included. Baseline data from January 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) were compared with follow-up data collected during the fourth and fifth week of the first lockdown (April 2020). Work stress conditions were measured using the Job-Stress-Index (JSI). The JSI indicates the ratio of work-related resources (e.g., appreciation at work) and stressors (e.g., work organisation) on a scale from 0 (stressors < resources) to 100 (stressors > resources). Paired sample t-tests were performed for statistical analysis. Results: Data from 75 participants were analysed. Fifty-three participants were female (70.7 %). The mean age was 42.8 years (range from 21.8 to 62.7) at baseline. At baseline, the mean JSI was 47.6 (SD = 5.0), with 77.7 (SD = 12.4) for resources and 22.3 (SD = 10.1) for stressors. At follow-up, the mean JSI was 47.4 SD = 4.5), with 77.5 (SD = 11.7) for resources and 21.4 (SD = 9.6) for stressors. We found no evidence for a difference in JSI (estimate = 0.67, 95 % CI: -0.33 to 0.66, p-value = 0.50), its index of resources (estimate = 0.23, 95 % CI: -1.32 to 1.69, p-value = 0.82) or the index of work stressors (estimate = 1.4, 95 % CI: -0.32 to 2.02, p-value = 0.15) between measurement time points. Conclusion: The first COVID-19 lockdown did not result in a difference of work stress conditions among our sample of Swiss office workers. Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to this finding. Impact: Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to stable task-related stressors and resources in the early phase of the lockdown. Other, non-work-related environmental stressors should be investigated to explain COVID-19-related changes in mental and physical health
URI: https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/23575
Fulltext version: Published version
License (according to publishing contract): Licence according to publishing contract
Departement: School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit: Institute of Public Health (IPH)
Institute of Physiotherapy (IPT)
Published as part of the ZHAW project: Prävention und Intervention von Nackenschmerzen bei Büroangestellten in der Schweiz (NEXpro)
Appears in collections:Publikationen Gesundheit

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Aegerter, A., Deforth, M., Johnston, V., Sjøgaard, G., Luomajoki, H., Volken, T., Distler, O., Dressel, H., Melloh, M., & Elfering, A. (2021). No evidence for an effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions in office workers [Conference presentation]. European Journal of Public Health, 31(Supplement_3), ckab164. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715
Aegerter, A. et al. (2021) ‘No evidence for an effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions in office workers’, in European Journal of Public Health, p. ckab164.715. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715.
A. Aegerter et al., “No evidence for an effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions in office workers,” in European Journal of Public Health, Nov. 2021, vol. 31, no. Supplement_3, p. ckab164.715. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715.
AEGERTER, Andrea, Manja DEFORTH, Venerina JOHNSTON, Gisela SJØGAARD, Hannu LUOMAJOKI, Thomas VOLKEN, Oliver DISTLER, Holger DRESSEL, Markus MELLOH und Achim ELFERING, 2021. No evidence for an effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown on work stress conditions in office workers. In: European Journal of Public Health. Conference presentation. 12 November 2021. S. ckab164.715
Aegerter, Andrea, Manja Deforth, Venerina Johnston, Gisela Sjøgaard, Hannu Luomajoki, Thomas Volken, Oliver Distler, Holger Dressel, Markus Melloh, and Achim Elfering. 2021. “No Evidence for an Effect of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Work Stress Conditions in Office Workers.” Conference presentation. In European Journal of Public Health, 31:ckab164. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715.
Aegerter, Andrea, et al. “No Evidence for an Effect of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Work Stress Conditions in Office Workers.” European Journal of Public Health, vol. 31, no. Supplement_3, 2021, p. ckab164, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.715.


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