ArticleJournal of affective disorders2021
The impact of reduced working on mental health in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the Understanding Society COVID-19 study.
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic.International journal of social determinants of health and health services · 2023Pooled it
- Personal wellbeing and depression among Thai people living in poverty: evidence from the COVID-19 crisis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Trends in psychotropic medication across occupation types before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: a linked administrative data study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Epidemic Perception and Cyberbullying Behaviors of Chinese Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Job loss and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national prospective cohort study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Job loss and job instability during the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of depression and anxiety among Swedish employees.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Work from home: A behavioral model of Indonesian education workers' productivity during Covid-19.Heliyon · 2023Article
- SPARK Resilience in the workplace: Effectiveness of a brief online resilience intervention during the COVID-19 lockdown.PloS one · 2023Article
- Article
- Changes in the identification and management of mental health and domestic abuse among pregnant women during the COVID-19 lockdown: regression discontinuity study.BJPsych open · 2022Article
- Mental distress among young adults in Great Britain: long-term trends and early changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Article
- Labor market effects of COVID-19 in Sweden and its neighbors: Evidence from administrative data.Kyklos (Online) · 2021Article
- Time trend analysis of social inequalities in psychological distress among young adults before and during the pandemic: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study COVID-19 waves.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2021Article
- COVID-19, Economic Impact, Mental Health, and Coping Behaviors: A Conceptual Framework and Future Research Directions.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Review
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5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated an unpredictable economic crisis, currently affecting daily life for millions of workers. We examined the mental health impact of reduced working in a nationally representative sample of employees.
methodWe used Wave one (April 2020) of the Understanding Society UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) COVID-19 study, with linkage to baseline mental health data from the UKHLS annual survey (January 2017- December 2018). Analysis was based on adults aged 18-65 who were employees in January/February 2020 (n=8,708), with psychological distress assessed using the GHQ-12. Logistic regression examined the mental health impact of reduced working and reasons for the reduction.
resultsForty two percent of employees reported reduced working by April 2020, with 22% furloughed. There was no evidence of an association between reduced working per se and psychological distress in the fully adjusted model (OR=1.06, 95%CI 0.91-1.23). Those permanently laid-off (less than 1% of employees) were most vulnerable to adverse mental health effects in the early months of the pandemic (OR=3.60, 95%CI 1.55-8.37). We also found evidence of higher levels of psychological distress among those sick or self-isolating, and those with reduced working due to caring responsibilities. LIMITATIONS: While the GHQ is a widely used and validated instrument in identifying potential psychiatric disorders, it is important to note that it does not represent a clinical assessment.
conclusionsLongitudinal examination of employment transitions and mental ill-health related to pandemic outcomes is imperative and should help inform public health responses and ongoing government policy in supporting those adversely affected.
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