A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Psychosocial Risks and Resources at Work and Employee Well-being in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Time Series of Cross-sections
Authors: Ervasti, Jenni; Airaksinen, Jaakko; Pentti, Jaana; Kausto, Johanna; Joensuu, Matti; Oksanen, Tuula; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi
Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal name in source: Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine
ISSN: 1076-2752
eISSN: 1536-5948
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000003301
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0000000000003301
Objective: We examined the relationships between psychosocial factors and employee wellbeing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Survey data were from Finnish public sector employees from 2018 (T1=before), 2020 (T2=during), and 2022 (T3=after the pandemic) (n=29,360). Employee wellbeing was measured with self-rated health, work ability, and recovery from work. The generalized linear models using Poisson distribution were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, obesity, and health behaviors.
Results: Psychosocial factors were associated with suboptimal employee wellbeing in every timepoint. The association between high effort-reward imbalance and suboptimal work ability was strongest during the pandemic (risk ratio 1.53, 95% confidence interval 1.47-1.59). The association between high job strain and suboptimal recovery from work was stronger during the pandemic (1.49, 1.46-1.52) than post-pandemic (1.45, 1.43-1.48).
Conclusions: Job stress had the strongest associations with suboptimal wellbeing during the pandemic.
Funding information in the publication:
This study was funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (#220431). In addition, Mika Kivimäki received funding from the Wellcome Trust, UK (221854/Z/20/Z), National Institute on Aging, US (R01AG056477), Medical Research Council, UK (MR/R024227/1, MR/Y014154/1), and the Academy of Finland (350426). The funders had no role in the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, the writing of the report, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
