Psychosocial Risks and Resources at Work and Employee Well-being in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Time Series of Cross-sections.

Abstract

We examined the relationships between psychosocial factors and employee well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 well-being 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. Psychosocial factors were associated with suboptimal employee well-being 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 postpandemic (1.45, 1.43-1.48). Job stress had the strongest associations with suboptimal well-being during the pandemic.