Scientists from Old Dominion University in the USA found that the stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19 significantly affect the mental health of employees. results published in the journal Occupational Health Sciences.
The pandemic has caused social isolation, financial stress, uncertainty, health problems and, in some cases, increased workload. The study’s authors conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 135 studies on worker psychosomatic stress caused by COVID-19.
The researchers found that workers with families and children, as well as women, are more stressed by COVID-19 than childless, unmarried people and men.
Increased stress caused by COVID-19 has been associated with worse overall mental health and quality of life, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and sleep problems. It was also associated with decreased job satisfaction, increased susceptibility to burnout, and stress at work.
“The most important finding of the study is that the stress caused by COVID-19 has a very tangible impact on employee well-being. The pandemic is still not over, and people are fed up with the restrictions and the sense of uncertainty, so it is important to study this issue,” he said.